TAKING TO TASK
by PorscheDsgn
Summary: Dec.15.05 LAST CHAPTER uploaded. Sequel to Taking A Chance Frank is trying to settle back into his old life again with the hopes of a new romance. An old enemy rears his head again and, once more, it's the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew on the case.
1. Chapter 1 Beginnings

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER ONE

"BEGINNINGS"

"Coochie, coochie coo!" Joe Hardy stared down at his baby niece whom he held in his arms and grinned as her little face wrinkled up for a moment then a hint of a smile appeared on her face. "Aren't you just the cutest little thing? Don't you love your Uncle Joe? Don't you? Oooh, yes, you love your Uncle Joe."

Frank Hardy, the baby's father, stared at his brother with something akin to amusement on his face and he shook his head. Brown eyes sparkled with merriment as uncle and niece bonded and he leaned back against the wall behind him, watching them.

_Who would have thought a baby would turn the great Joe Hardy into such a mushball anyway?_ Frank thought with an inner laugh. _Laid low by a six pound four ounce baby!_

"Joe Hardy, quit baby-talking the baby," Laura Hardy ordered a moment later. Frank's mother – the baby's grandmother – stood to one side, watching her youngest son with affection.

"I don't know, Mom," Frank said to his mother. "Baby-talk is about all he's ever been capable of. At least now he's talking to his intellectual equal."

"Ha," Joe said succinctly as he stood, baby still in his arms and wandered down the hallway. Frank heard his parting words – spoken to the baby. "Don't mind them, Diana my love, I know you love me."

Frank smiled and turned to his mother. It felt strange being back home after two years – two years when he had no memory of this life and was living another life entirely.

The Hardys stayed in St. Louis during the two months it took for Diana to gain enough weight to leave the hospital after her premature birth when her mother died. Frank agreed to move back in with his parents on a temporary basis only – he planned on getting out on his own again as soon as he could manage it. For now, he was going to need his mom's help with the baby. What he knew about taking care of one he could fit into a very small thimble.

"When's Nancy coming?" Laura asked Frank, interrupting his thoughts.

"This afternoon," Frank smiled at his mother as he thought of his friend.

Back when they were younger they were always attracted to each other but also always attached – Frank to his then girlfriend Callie and Nancy to her then boyfriend Ned. Now, two years later, Frank's girlfriend was dead – killed in an explosion when Frank lost his memory and Ned, who could no longer handle Nancy's devotion to her detective career.

Now they were both free – and tentatively wanting to pursue a relationship with each other.

And both agreed to take it slow, which was why Nancy was not moving to Bayport but visiting. Frank looked forward to seeing her again – he always loved seeing her, talking over cases, taking walks… sometimes not saying anything at all but just spending time with each other.

And Diana adored Nancy, that was obvious in the hospital the last time Nancy saw the baby.

"You're happy about that, aren't you?" Laura asked Frank. Frank nodded, smiling a little sheepishly as he admitted it.

"Very much," he said. "I know I just lost Diana… Miriam… but…"

He sighed and looked away. It brought out feelings of guilt, as always, when he thought of his deceased wife, killed by her own father. Frank knew he had not loved her as she wanted, knew that he would have left her after the baby was born and taken the baby if he could. She had lied to him about his identity – but she had loved him.

"You've always had feelings for Nancy," Laura said softly. "Anyone who looked at you could see that. You and she have that connection between you – and you understand each other as well."

"Well, true," Frank shrugged.

"You'd better go rescue your daughter from her Uncle. He's probably teaching her coochie-coochie-coo…"

Frank shuddered and laughed. "Yeah, I think I'll go do that. It's Daddy's turn."

"You two are going to spoil her rotten you know," Laura commented.

"Like you and dad aren't?" Frank laughed again. "Between you two and Joe it's a wonder that I ever get to see her!"

"Grandparents prerogative," Laura beamed.

"Grandparents revenge, more like," Frank muttered.

He walked down the hallway though and rescued his daughter from his brother, sending Joe scooting with a slap to the back.

"There you are!" Frank saw Nancy as she appeared out of the terminal and into the baggage claim area at the airport and he walked forward, carefully hugging her with one arm while he held onto Diana's baby carrier with the other. The baby slept peacefully in her carrier, ignoring all of the hustle and bustle around. Frank had allowed several older couples a look at the infant, and a certain amount of oohing and coohing went on around him.

"Hello," Nancy smiled and she returned Frank's hug. They stopped and stared at each other for a moment, hearts pattering along within their chests and Nancy hugged Frank again, then, suddenly, their lips met.

"Hello," Nancy said softly again. Arm-in-arm they went to get Nancy's bag off of the baggage carousel and walked out to the parking garage to get Frank's car.

"Let me see," Nancy motioned to the baby. "Isn't she adorable? She's getting bigger."

"She eats like a horse," Frank agreed. "No, she's doing well. The doctor said she's coming along nicely, no harm was done from the premature birth."

"I'm so glad for you," Nancy smiled as she swept the car carrier up into her arms to get a better look at Diana. "Look at those hands? Aren't they cute? They're so tiny!"

"Strong too," Frank said. "Watch out, she has an unhealthy obsession with hair. Joe can tell you stories already."

Nancy laughed. They secured the car seat into the car and got in to drive back to the Hardy house.

Frank was euphoric. Here he was with his daughter and his best friend in the same place. Nancy and he were on their way to a new relationship – something he had wanted for a long time but hadn't dared to attempt.

"How's Joe?" Nancy asked.

"Good," Frank said. "He's great. And he's completely in love."

"With Vanessa?" Nancy stared at him.

"No," Frank said. "Well, yeah with Vanessa. But he's totally lost his heart – to Diana. I'm surprised I ever get to see her."

Nancy laughed. "I take it he's playing the uncle role to the hilt?"

"And then some," Frank agreed. "And then some."

Nancy's blue eyes sparkled. "I can see it."

"Me too," Frank said. "Frequently."

The drive went quietly for a bit as they basked in each other's presence. Frank knew he was far happier than he had been in years and, once more, felt just the slightest guilt for it. He shouldn't be guilty. It wasn't his fault what Diana and her father decided.

They finally arrived back at the Hardy home and Frank let Nancy get Diana's carrier while he got her suitcase. Once inside, Nancy took Diana from the carrier and held the sleeping baby in her arms while rocking in a rocking chair and Frank put Nancy's bag in the guest room.

"She's sleeping in my room for now," Frank explained to his girlfriend. "It's easier when she needs fed at night."

"That's a good idea," Nancy said. "How are your parents?"

"Dad left this morning for a big case in Washington and my mom's great. Spoiling her granddaughter, too."

"Nan!" Joe came into the living room, holding a huge bowl of ice cream. "Hey!"

"Sssh, lout!" Frank ordered. "The baby is sleeping."

"Oooh, sorry!" Joe grinned. "Oops."

The doorbell rang and Joe pivoted on his heel to go and answer it. He opened the door to find two men in suits standing on the doorstep.

"Frank Hardy?" one of them asked.

"Nope," Joe said. "Joe Hardy. Frank?"

Frank went to the door. "May I help you?" he asked.

"Frank Hardy, I'm Special Agent Forbes, this is Special Agent Donahue," one of the men said. They both held up badges and let Frank study them. "We need you to come with us."


	2. Chapter 2 Revenge is a Dish Best

TAKING TO TASK  
CHAPTER TWO

"Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold"

"What? Why?" Frank stared at the two agents, a dumbfounded expression on his handsome face. He stared over at Nancy and Joe, who now stood nearby. Nancy held baby Diana in her arms as they waited for answers from the agents.

"May we come in?" Agent Forbes asked. "We don't have much time but we will take a few minutes to explain before we go."

Frank narrowed his eyes but stood to one side to allow the two agents to enter the house. They were led into the living room and offered seats. Frank took Diana from Nancy and held her in his arms while he stared down the two agents.

"We've uncovered a major initiative by one of the terrorist groups that has managed to set up a cell here in the U.S.," Agent Forbes began to explain. "We generally have been successful in getting plants into the U.S. led groups and have used that to our advantage. Rather than shutting down the groups early on, we allow them some rope to hang themselves by. This group is based out of St. Louis, Missouri."

Frank's eyes widened with shock. "Marcius Ras-Alman is still in St. Louis?" he asked, stunned.

"You know of Ras-Alman?" Agent Donahue spoke for the first time in a rumbly growl of a voice.

"I'd say," Joe commented. He briefly explained to Donahue about Frank's going missing for two years and living as James Fleming. He also explained that Frank's wife had been Ras-Alman's daughter, Miriam, who was killed by her father when Frank found out who he really was.

"So he does have a reason to want revenge against you," Forbes asked Frank.

"I suppose," Frank said slowly, thinking it all over. "If you consider that he's half-crazy and probably blames me for Diana… Miriam's death. He was the one who shot her… he was trying to kill me and she got in the way."

Frank felt the usual guilt and grief over his wife's killing and he sighed, holding Diana even closer.

"There's a major plan in the works by Ras-Alman's group to come after you, specifically, Mr. Hardy," Forbes said. "As a result we need you to come with us. We'll be putting you into a safe house until we can shut this group down."

"No," Frank shook his head firmly. "I'm not going anywhere. Do you realize I was gone for two years, thinking I was someone else? I just got my family back, Agent Forbes. I'm not about to leave them again."

"Mr. Hardy," Forbes turned to Frank imploringly. "I need you to understand. If you stay here, you would not only be endangering yourself but you could endanger you family and your baby. Is that what you want? If you come with us we can guarantee your safety, and your daughters."

"And what's to stop Ras-Alman from going after my family to get to me?" Frank demanded. "Nothing, that's what. I learned early on that we're much better off together than apart. If I go my whole family goes with me and since I know they don't want to go, we're sticking it out."

Forbes looked astonished. Donahue, however, reached into his pocket and threw a picture onto the coffee table.

"Do you recognize this man?" Donahue asked.

Frank looked down at the picture, then back up at Donahue. "He worked for Ras-Alman, I only saw him one time."

Joe looked at the picture. "I never learned his name but I always thought of him as 'Goon 1'. He works for Ras-Alman, though, I know that much."

"We found him shot in the head execution style in your home in St. Louis," Donahue rumbled. "He was obviously killed as a statement."

Frank shook his head helplessly. "I still don't know why. I mean, I never really knew the man at all. And the last time I saw him he had a gun on me."

"His name was Anthony Deems," Forbes reported. "He was our agent. There was a note in his pocket."

Forbes removed the note – which was inside of a large plastic bag – and placed it on the table.

Frank handed Diana back to Nancy and sat down on the couch. They all read the note together.

Dear F.B.I.

Your pitiful attempts to infiltrate my company has been noted.

Let this be a lesson.

And let this be a warning to he who was my son. This is what he has waiting for him.

Some day, some time, some when.

I shall show him the way I deal with traitors.

MAR

Frank shook his head, astonished.

"This guy was your agent?" he asked. "He tried as hard as any of them to kill us…"

"It was his job," Forbes said. "Now, will you come with us?"

Frank shook his head. "I can't. I know Ras-Alman, he'll stop at nothing to get to me. He would kill everyone in my family to draw me out. I'm much better off here, with them, than I would be somewhere else."

"We're going to have to insist, sir," Donahue rumbled in his low voice again. "This is a matter of national security?"

"Oh come on!" Joe protested. "How could keeping my brother safe involve national security? I know Ras-Alman's a terrorist but…"

"But he could do anything to get to your brother, including compromising the safety of thousands," Donahue growled.

"That could happen in or out of your custody and you know it," Nancy said. "We're all good at taking care of ourselves. We're on the alert now so we know what to look for but if you take Frank, you take all of us."

The two agents exchanged glances with each other and sighed.

"We have to report in to our superiors. We will be back," Forbes promised.

The two agents left, leaving them on their own again. Frank sagged back into his sofa and rubbed at his head.

"Maybe I'd be better off going with them. What if something happened to you – or Diana? I could never live with that."

"Do you really think they can keep you safe? Or us?" Joe asked.

"I don't know," Frank admitted. "I don't know what to do right now. If dad was here I could ask him but he's not so I can't."

Frank rocked back and forth a little, obviously confused and upset. Seeing that picture startled him and he could only too easy see himself in the same situation – a bullet through his forehead.

"What first?" Nancy asked. "We could just go away for a while on our own."

"I'm not running, Nancy," Frank said.

"It's not running," Nancy protested. "It's planning ahead. And that's what we need to do. We send your mom somewhere safe, let your dad know what's going on and then disappear for a while. We work under the radar and stop Ras-Alman. Ourselves."

Frank looked over at Joe who nodded.

"All right, then," he said, sighing. "Let's do it."


	3. Chapter 3 Under the Radar

TAKING TO TASK  
CHAPTER THREE  
"Under the Radar"

"Dad, it's Frank," Frank spoke into the phone as he paced his bedroom. "We have a big problem on our hands."

Fenton Hardy's voice was warm on the other side of the connection. _"What's wrong, son?"_ he asked.

Frank described the situation as described to him by the F.B.I. agents and their plans to take Ras-Alman down themselves.

_"Are you sure that's a good idea?"_ Fenton sounded dubious. _"You all could get in over your heads very quickly if Ras-Alman finds out what you're doing."_

"I know," Frank admitted. "That's why we want to make sure you, mom and the baby are all safe. As much as I want Diana to stay with me, I think she would be safer wherever we send mom and Aunt Gertrude."

Fenton was quiet for a moment. _"I'll call your mother when we hang up. You get the baby's things ready to go so Mom can take her when you go. I'm not going to tell you where they're going, in case you get caught. I'd bet anything Ras-Alman would like to get his hands on your daughter."_

"I'm sure," Frank sighed. "All right, then. I'll leave Mom and Diana's safety to you."

_"Good," _Fenton said. _"I'll tear myself away from this case as soon as I can. I want you, Joe or Nancy to call me every day without fail. If you miss a day, I'm going to come looking for you."_

"That's fine," Frank sighed with relief. That took care of potential backup. "I'd better go so we can plan our first move. Take care, Dad."

_"I will, son. That goes double for you. Love you."_

"Love you too, Dad. Bye."

Frank turned back to his brother and girlfriend. Nancy was already packing a bag for Diana, tucking in plenty of diapers, clothes, bottles and other necessities.

"Your mom will probably have to buy more stuff for her wherever they go," Nancy said. "But this will do for a start. I'll go pack some stuff for you, if you'd like to spend some time with Diana."

Frank smiled at her and gave her another kiss before he went to pick up Diana. The baby was awake, her blue eyes half open as she looked around at the world around her. Frank gently stroked her cheek as he settled into the rocking chair, holding her against his chest.

She was a beautiful baby, very beautiful and Frank knew he was lucky to have her. She could have very easily died along with her mother but she'd shown her fighting spirit from the very beginning. Frank grinned as the baby pursed her lips and blew a raspberry.

"You are going to take after your Uncle Joe, aren't you?" Frank asked the baby. "I'm not sure my head can handle two of you. You'll have me in a mental ward by the time your five. Don't do that to your old dad, all right?"

Diana blew another raspberry and Frank laughed helplessly. He carried her into the kitchen to prepare a bottle, then settled back into his rocking chair to feed her. Diana ate ravenously until the bottle was mostly empty and then Frank changed her diaper.

"There," he sighed as he kissed her. "All ready to go with grandma when she gets back."

By the time Laura Hardy arrived back at the house, all three had a bag packed and ready to go. Laura looked concerned and worried but she was efficient as she went to pack her own bag.

"Your dad told me not to say where I'm going," Laura said. "Are you going to be all right with this?"

Frank nodded. "As long as she's safe, I can handle it. That's what matters. Are you going to be okay, Mom? You're getting uprooted because of me again."

Laura nodded as she kissed Frank's cheek. "I'm fine. We'll have a good time as long as you three stay safe."

Laura kissed her younger son's cheek and hugged Nancy.

"I'll be in contact with your father," Laura told the boys. "So I'll leave progress reports on how the baby is doing. You can ask him when you check in."

"Thanks, Mom," Frank smiled. "I really appreciate that. It makes me feel better, knowing you're on top of things."

"That's what mom's do best," Laura grinned as she took the baby from Frank.

"You be a good girl, Diana Laura," Frank told his daughter. "And stay out of trouble."

Frank kissed the baby's forehead and turned to Joe and Nancy.

"Let's go," he said.

The three went out to the driveway to Frank's new car. They put their bags into the trunk and with a last wave at Laura and Diana, drove away.

"First stop, St. Louis MO," Frank said. "Back to his home base."

"Right," Joe agreed. Joe looked over at his brother and was glad to see that Frank was relaxed but ready – ready for anything, Joe hoped. "And what do we do from there?"

"Drive Ras-Alman to distraction," Frank said. "So that he makes a big enough mistake that he acts publicly. Then we take him down."


	4. Chapter 4 Chances Taken

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER FOUR

"Chances Taken"

"Are you all right, Frank?" Nancy gazed over at her boyfriend as he stared almost aimlessly out of the windshield of the car, his attention seemingly focused on the scenery around them and on his driving. Nancy slid as far as her seatbelt let her slide and touched his arm, causing him to look quickly at her before he looked away again. Warmth filled her as she watched him and felt closer to him than ever.

_Finally,_ she thought. _It finally all feels right. The way it's supposed to feel. I'm actually with Frank Hardy. _

"I'm good," Frank smiled and took her hand, squeezing it. He held onto her hand for a moment, rubbing his thumb along her knuckles and he kissed the back of Nancy's hand, causing her to blush slightly. Nancy knew then that he felt the same way. "Better, actually. I'm with the best gal in the whole world."

Nancy's blue eyes sparkled as she watched Frank. He looked relaxed, happy and slightly anxious. What they were going to do was dangerous and Frank knew it. Ras-Alman was not a man to be toyed with; he proved himself capable of taking out anyone who got in the way of his plans. Nancy wanted the danger ended so they could focus on their relationship – and not staying alive.

"Do you think he's still in St. Louis?" Nancy asked.

"It's been his home base for a while," Frank shrugged. He grinned when he heard Joe snore in the backseat and he looked in the rearview mirror to find Joe leaning against one door, his mouth half-open. Joe snored again and Frank laughed.

"He can sleep anywhere, I swear!" Nancy declared. "Look at him."

Frank grinned. "I remember when he was about five he disappeared while we were in a sports arena. Mom was freaking out when suddenly a security guard called us over. Joe was sound asleep on some stairs. We've found him in cupboards, on countertops, tables, curled up behind the recliner… yep, he can sleep anywhere."

"Anyway," Nancy said. "About Ras-Alman?"

"He's been known to pick up and move operations when the law is getting too close," Frank continued. "He did it after… after the explosion. Just picked up and set-up new operations in St. Louis with none-the-wiser – or so we all thought. He probably moved already but I don't know. Losing Miriam was… not in his equation, I think. He may stay in St. Louis to draw me out – to bring me to him."

"You don't think he knows we're coming do you?" Nancy wondered out loud. "I mean, he's been capable of finding out things we thought impossible before…"

"It's possible," Frank said. "And if so, we know he'll try something. We'll just have to be careful, won't we?"

"Yeah," Nancy agreed, relaxing again. No sense in getting all bent out of shape now, when she didn't know what the future held. Another thought occurred to her.

"Are we playing into his hands by coming back here?" Nancy asked worriedly. "Maybe this was part of his plan."

"It might be," Frank admitted. "I thought of that a couple of hours ago. I don't see that we have a lot of options, short of going into hiding for ten years while the Feds continue to play games with him."

"And that's not an option any of us like," Nancy sighed as she peered out the window again. "I know I don't want to go running off like a scared rabbit."

"Me either," Frank smiled. He jumped when his cell phone rang and Nancy took the phone from his belt and looked at the caller ID.

"Caller is unknown," Nancy said to Frank.

"Then let it ring," Frank said. "I didn't give the number out to anyone that should read as unknown."

Nancy nodded and sat the phone down on the seat beside her. She peered thoughtfully out the window.

"What's going on in your head, Drew?" Frank asked her a short while later as he pulled off the highway to fill up the tank with gas.

"Just running through possibilities," Nancy waved him away. "I'll let you know if I find one I like."

"Right," Frank leaned over and kissed her. "That's one I liked."

"Whuz goin' on?" a sleepy voice from the backseat asked. "Why we stopped?"

"We have to feed the car," Frank told him. "Why don't you go inside and get us some coffee and donuts and I'll fill the tank."

Joe unlimbered himself from the back seat and wandered into the restaurant. Nancy went in after him, stating she had to use the facilities if they had any and Frank grinned as he leaned back against his car, while waiting for the gas tank to fill.

He heard his cell phone ring again and he sighed as he opened the passenger door and pulled the phone out. It was an unlisted number again but this time he answered it.

"Frank Hardy," he said.

"James," the cultured, foreign-accented voice on the other end of the line said to him.

"Marcius," Frank said coldly. "What do you want?"

"I think you know what I want, James," Marcius Ras-Alman sounded calm – and cold as well. "I want you and I want my granddaughter. It's that simple. Bring her to me and your family can live in peace again."

"Do you really think I'm going to turn my daughter over to the man who killed her mother?" Frank demanded. "There's no way in hell, Ras-Alman. No way at all. You killed Diana – I'm not about to let you near our baby. Do you understand that?"

"You know so little, James," Ras-Alman chuckled. "You think you can keep her from me? That you can be safe from me?"

"I not only know it, I believe it," Frank said calmly.

_I have faith in my father, _Frank thought. _And he will do his best to make sure mom and Diana are safe from you, you bastard._

There was a pause and Frank wondered, for a moment, if Ras-Alman had hung up.

"You don't have long to live, James," Ras-Alman was much more cold and hostile when next he spoke. "You, your brother and Miss Drew have all signed your death warrants. I hold all of you responsible for Miriam's death. It is you who will pay."

Frank snorted. "You were the one who held the gun, Marcius. You were the one who fired it and you were the one who killed her. Kill me, or Joe, or Nancy and you still haven't absolved yourself of Diana's death. Get it, Marc ole pal? We're not biting. Go play with your fish and your guns and just remember – one day when you least expect, we'll be there."

He hung up his phone as Ras-Alman yelled, "You're dead! You're…"

Frank slid his phone back into his holder on his belt and was whistling as he finished topping of the tank and wandered inside the gas station to use the restroom. He found Joe standing near a stand of potato chips, looking half asleep.

"You planning on buying one or would you like to commune some more?" Frank asked his brother.

"Thinking here," Joe said.

Frank laughed and continued on to the bathroom. He came back out to find Joe had made his purchases and took the cup of hot coffee Joe offered. Nancy took a minute to find a snack she liked – namely granola bars – and was about to pay for them when they heard something from outside.

A huge whoosh preceded a fiery trail that suddenly spread around the car and the island and, as the gas attendant yelled, "Get Down" there was a sudden explosion that caused the whole building to shake.

Frank barely noticed the rack of oil bottles that fell down from above and was about to fall on his head…


	5. Chapter 5 Let the Games Begin

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER FIVE  
"LET THE GAMES BEGIN"

Nancy blinked through a fog of smoke, dust and ask that flew through the air around her and she lay still on the ground, waiting for the tumult around her to die before she tried to move. She stared uncomprehending at first through her hands at the fire raging just outside of the gas station's mini mart and she closed her eyes again, not liking what she saw.

A few moments – or minutes – later, however, she moved. Nancy got to a kneeling position, careful to avoid the fallen debris and the pieces of roof caved in around her as she looked around for her two companions. She saw Joe nearby, sitting up, blinking owlishly as he rubbed at his face. A trickle of blood flowed from a wound on his forehead and she went to him, tearing off a piece of her blouse so he could use it to staunch the flow of the cut.

"Where's Frank?" Joe coughed as he spoke. "Have you seen him?"

"No," Nancy shook her head. "You stay here, I'll look for him."

The redhead crawled through the debris, moving as carefully as she could toward where she had last seen Frank. She went past the attendant and stopped to check on him. She was able to help him sit up and he leaned back against the remains of the counter behind him, coughing and blinking out with incredulity at the raging inferno outside.

"Are you all right?" Nancy asked him kindly, though she was concerned for Frank.

"Fine…" the attendant said vaguely. "Fine."

Nancy wasn't so sure. She thought he might be suffering from shock – she assumed all four of them were in some degree or other. Nancy continued her search for Frank, though, a little more fearfully because he had not appeared yet.

Where are you, Hardy? She wondered to herself. She continued to search, finally picking up the things she could lift until she came to a fallen rack that had once contained multiple bottles of car oil.

"Frank!" Nancy exclaimed when she saw Frank half laying underneath the oilcans and half underneath a couple of dozen magazines. "Frank, it's Nancy. Can you hear me?"

Frank groaned and Nancy saw his eyes flutter open. She gently chaffed his wrists, trying to aid his circulation and finally he opened his eyes fully and stared up at her.

"Nan?" he asked.

Nancy coughed and nodded. "Yeah," she agreed, smiling. "Don't try to move yet, let's make sure nothing is broken."

"Need to get out of here," the attendant said from behind her. "Place could still go up."

Nancy looked back at him. He nodded.

"Gotta go. Let's go. Please?"

"Joe, I need your help," Nancy called to the younger Hardy. Joe got to his feet and crouched and crawled his way to where Nancy stood. Nancy turned to the attendant. "Where do we go?"

"Back door, through the employee doors," the attendant pointed out. Nancy finally read his nametag – Jeff. "We can get out that way."

"Okay," Nancy agreed. "You go on ahead. Clear stuff out of the way as much as you can so we can get my friend through, please?"

Jeff nodded his agreement and got slowly to his feet. Nancy smiled at Joe as he knelt beside his brother.

"I can get up," Frank said.

"Let's just take it easy here, Frank," Joe ordered. "We all took some pretty good licks. You took the worst, it looks like. Can you feel your arms and legs?"

"Yeah and they all hurt," Frank said. "And I'm laying on something that's digging in, too. Now let's get."

Carefully, Nancy and Joe got Frank to his feet and helped the older Hardy toward the back door. Jeff had obviously cleared some of the rubble he could move out of the way, by picking it up and tossing it to one side or the other and, with Frank leaning on both Nancy and Joe, they were able to get him to the employee doors at the back of the gas station.

"Hold on… a second…" Frank gasped painfully as he held onto his chest. "I think I busted… a rib… Hurts like Hades!"

"Just a few more feet, Frank," Joe said to his brother. "We need to get out of here or we're going to go up with the place."

"Okay," Frank said with determination.

They continued into the employee area of the station and saw Jeff holding the back door open. He motioned them out the door and pointed to a nearby parking lot.

"We should go at least that far," Jeff commented. "That's what we were told to do in case this ever happened. Just never expected it to happen."

"Were you working alone?" Nancy asked Jeff.

Jeff nodded. "My boss would have been there in about twenty minutes. He should be here any minute now, I guess. Damn, what's he going to say?"

Nancy shook her head. "I don't know but it's lucky he wasn't here. Did anyone see what happened?"

"Sort of," Frank said. "I didn't see the start of the fire but I saw it spreading around the gas pumps – like someone spread gas around all over the place. Anyway, that's when I heard that whoosh and suddenly the whole world exploded around us."

"Why would someone want to start a fire at a gas station? That's nuts!" Jeff exclaimed.

Nancy, Frank and Joe said nothing. They waited as the fire department and police finally arrived on the scene and a paramedic found them in the parking lot, watching the action.

"Let's look you guys over," the paramedic, whose tag read "Chabert" said.

"Who called it in?" Joe asked curiously.

"One of the neighbors, from what I understand," Chabert said. He was checking Frank over, carefully checking for broken limbs. He agreed that Frank had at least a cracked if not broken rib and said he wanted to run Frank into the hospital to get a once over by a doctor. Frank reluctantly agreed and added he thought Joe should get his head looked at.

"I think all four of you should go," the paramedic said. "Even if you aren't obviously hurt there may be something we can't see."

They agreed reluctantly, only because at the moment they had no way to get anywhere.

A police officer named Baker came and took their statements before they were loaded into the ambulance and carted away to the nearest hospital.

"You don't think Ras-Alman had something to do with this, do you?" Joe asked later as they were settled into a room for the night at the hospital. He and Frank were sharing a room and Nancy had been put next door. For now, though, they were all three Frank and Joe's shared room.

"I don't know," Frank said. "It seems a little… obvious… to be an accident."

"The thing is," Nancy said. "How did Ras-Alman know right where we are? He had no way of knowing which gas station we'd stop at or even what town we'd stop in. There's no way this could have been done in the short amount of time we were in the mini-mart."

"That's a good point," Joe agreed. He lay back on his bed and rubbed his head. He had rejected the offer of a painkiller, wanting to stay as clear headed as he could. Frank, however, had accepted a half dose – his chest hurt bad enough to warrant it. "It's not like that was a spur of the moment thing. A fire bomb in the car, maybe, but not a gas station explosion like that. Aren't those gas tanks built like armored cars?"

"That's a good point, too," Nancy said. "There's not enough oxygen down there for them to burn. You'd have to, I don't know, drill holes or something to allow oxygen in for a fire to take and then set the fire itself. Maybe this really was just a bad coincidence."

"Wouldn't that be our luck?" Frank sighed.

"We need to make plans for tomorrow," Nancy said. "Assuming we all get released, we're going to have to get to the store and buy some more clothes and necessities and then figure out what to do about a car."

"Took care of the car already," Joe commented. "I called Dad. He arranged to have a rental car at the rental agency. We'll be receiving a packet here tomorrow morning, it will have new Ids in it since we aren't using our real names to rent the car."

"Good," Frank murmured. He was already half-asleep and Nancy knew he would be out like a light in a few minutes.

"I'm heading back to my room, then," Nancy concluded the conversation. She got up and gave Frank a kiss before she turned and went back to her room.

"Nice girl," Joe grinned at his brother. He closed his eyes as he tried to relax.

"I think so too," Frank agreed.

The phone in their room rang and Joe leaned forward to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Did you like my present?" Ras-Alman asked him. "Rather fiery reception wasn't it?"

"You don't have better things to do than take credit for things you didn't do?" Joe asked.

Ras-Alman chuckled. "You really think I couldn't arrange something like that to happen? You don't give me enough credit, Mr. Hardy."

"No, I think I give you just enough," Joe said. "You're an opportunist. You don't have the creativity to do something like that. Now, do you have something important to tell me or can I go to sleep?"

Ras-Alman's voice was a hiss. "I called to tell you to keep looking over your shoulder. I know where you are and I know what you're doing. You can start counting the hours you left now – because that's how long you have left to live."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Joe murmured and he yawned loudly. "Sorry, phone call must be boring me. Have a good night, Marcius ole pal."

"This isn't the end of it, Hardy!" Ras-Alman screeched. "I'm going to win this little game. You're dead!"

"Yeah, great," Joe said as he hung up the phone. He settled back into his bed.

He didn't even dream that night.


	6. Chapter 6 My Heart Belongs To Me

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER 6

"MY HEART BELONGS TO ME"

"How does he keep finding us?" Nancy asked the next morning as she tied her long hair back into a single ponytail. Despite a shower and a change of clothing into surgical scrubs provided by the hospital, she felt grimy and soot-covered. She knew it was a figment of her imagination and a symptom of the trauma from the day before but she couldn't help it. She was just grateful to be alive, again.

"You about ready to go?" Joe asked. He, too, was dressed in surgical scrubs. Their first stop was going to be at a clothing store, since none of them wanted to wear surgical scrubs for the next several days.

"I'm ready," Nancy agreed, smiling. "Just waiting on your brother."

Joe smiled back at her and ran a comb through his hair. "He's finishing his last checkup with the doctor. When he gets done we can go. That rib is definitely cracked; he's going to be hurting for a few days."

"Maybe we should send him back to wherever your mom got sent?" Nancy suggested softly, hating the idea that Frank was hurt or would be hurting.

"You honestly think he's going to go?" Joe asked her.

Nancy shook her head. "He won't. Hardy is another word for stubborn."

"That's for sure," Joe laughed. "And some of us are more stubborn than others. Still, dad wasn't too happy to hear what happened. I called him last night, you know, and filled him in on things. He arranged to have a car brought to us. I don't know where he's getting it… well, he has a way of doing things."

"My dad wasn't much happier," Nancy admitted. "What all do we have left from the fire?"

"Frank and I both have our wallets. I have my cell phone, keys, pocket change and a small bag. Frank only has his wallet – his cell phone was on the front seat of the car."

"I got a small bag too," Nancy said. "My purse has my cell phone, wallet, sunglasses and some cosmetics in it. So we aren't completely destitute at least."

"At least," Joe grinned. "Now back to the main question. How is he finding us?"

Nancy shrugged. She looked up as Frank came out of his room, limping slightly. He moved gingerly but he made his way to Nancy's side, took her into his arms and kissed her.

"I'm so glad you're all right, Nan," he said softly. "I can't lose you too."

Nancy smiled and kissed him back. She wanted to hug him but didn't dare to do that because of his rib. He stroked her cheek before he turned to his brother.

"Ready to get out of here?" he asked.

"And then some," Joe agreed. "I was ready before we got here. Let's go."

The car promised them by their father was, in fact, waiting out front when they arrived. A young Army officer stood by the car and he handed Joe the keys.

"Mr. Hardy is a friend of our General," the army officer explained. "And the General says he owes your father quite a lot so he was more than happy to provide you with a car. I stayed by it so that it would remain secure. Also, could I please have your cell phones?"

Joe and Nancy stared at him while Frank slid, gingerly, into the front passenger seat.

"Mr. Hardy is not sure your phones are secure. We have replacements for you," the young officer explained. He pulled out three matching cell phones. Joe and Nancy took out their phones and handed them over, taking the new phones.

"Thanks a lot!" Joe exclaimed as he looked the phones over. "Talk about the security!"

"Like I said, our General owes your dad quite a lot and was willing to help your Father however he could. If that's all you need, we'll be on our way."

"Thank you!" Nancy smiled, eyes sparkling, at the young officer. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, Miss," the officer saluted, turned and went to the jeep waiting behind the car. The jeep sped off and Joe and Nancy got into the car.

"Here," Joe handed Frank his new cell phone. "Dad planned ahead."

"Good for our team," Frank smiled, not daring to laugh. "All right, let's go!"

The team set off again in the new car, this time a black Pontiac Grand Am. Not the biggest of cars in the world but better than a compact, it handled smoothly. Joe relaxed back into his seat as he drove, all three of them quiet for the moment.

They were all interrupted a few moments later by one of the cell phones ringing – it took Nancy a few moments to realize that it was hers.

"Hello?" she asked as she connected.

"Nancy?" the voice on the other end of the line was very familiar. Nancy felt her heart leap into her throat at the sound of that voice.

"Ned?" she asked uncertainly. She had to be hallucinating hearing that voice. It was not Ned. Maybe it was his dad, they did sound something alike.

"Yeah," Ned said. Nancy frowned as she looked up at Joe – and the back of Frank's head. Frank was asleep at the moment, his head resting against the door. "I just… I just wanted to talk to you a minute."

"Ned, this isn't really a good time," Nancy said. "I thought you'd pretty much said everything there was to say the last time we talked."

Ned sighed audibly. "Are you at school? I could call back another time but I'd really like to talk to you."

"I'm on a case, if you have to know," Nancy said. "Seems fair to tell you that since that's why you broke up with me in the first place."

Ned sighed again. "Nancy… I wanted to apologize, all right?"

Nancy paused and said nothing. The hand holding her cell phone shook and she willed herself to calm down. She didn't want to wake Frank up!

"Why?" Nancy asked. "It was true, wasn't it? My cases were always going to come between us. You lead me to believe all those years that you supported my detective work – that you understood that's what I wanted to do. And you wouldn't listen to me when I told you that I loved you. It wasn't enough for you."

"I was a total jerk," Ned agreed. "It wasn't about you, though, it was about me. I just… when you left on that case I got totally filled with insecurity. I could see you off having fun, doing what you always wanted to do and me worrying that you were going to get hurt or killed. I couldn't talk myself out of it."

He paused. "And it was stupid of me. I just… look, I'm not asking you to come back to me. I know you've moved on. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for being a royal jerk and to let you know that I wish you all the best. All right?"

Nancy sighed and shook her head. "Fine," she said softly. "I… I need time, Ned, before I talk to you again. I'm starting to be happy again and… and I want that to happen. Thanks for the apology, though. I'm not sure it was necessary but thank you."

"I'll see you," Ned said as he hung up.

Nancy disconnected and sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

"You okay, Nancy?" Joe asked.

"I'm fine," Nancy said. "My heart belongs to me."

4


	7. Chapter 7 Trust Me

TAKING TO TASK  
CHAPTER 7  
"TRUST ME"

"I don't get it," Joe admitted a few minutes later. He had been driving for about a half hour in relative silence.

"Get what?" Nancy asked as she leaned forward to check on Frank. He was sound asleep in the front seat, leaning against the window, propped up against a pillow they got from the hospital. Frank looked somewhat more comfortable with it but Nancy knew the rib hurt him when he moved too quickly.

"How did Ned get hold of you when we just got those phones?" Joe said. "I mean, did they hand out the number to everyone we know before they gave us the phones?"

Nancy frowned as she leaned back, considering.

"Good question," she admitted. "I didn't even stop to think about it when I was talking to Ned. Maybe the number was given to my dad, though. He would have given Ned the number if Ned said why he wanted to call."

"That's true," Joe nodded. "It's just the timing is weird. You didn't have the phone that long before he called."

"I know," Nancy shrugged and flipped her hair out of her face again. "Let's stop up here and get some clothes. I don't feel like setting a new fashion craze."

"Good idea," Joe said. "Talk about a fashion statement nobody wants to make."

The scrubs were comfortable but that's about all that could be said for them. They got off at the next exit from the highway and drove down the street until they got to a Target Store.

"Everyone out for clothing, lingerie and all that jazz," Joe quipped.

Nancy laughed as she gently woke Frank up again. Frank sat up, gingerly, but slid his feet out of the door and followed his brother and girlfriend into the store. Once in the store they got a handicapped cart for Frank to ride around in and made their way to the men's department to pick out some clothing for Frank and Joe and then the women's department to get a few things for Nancy.

They made the stop as fast as they could, changed, and went out to the car again. Nancy saw Frank's face was pale and drawn and worried, she knelt beside him outside the car.

"Frank," she said. "Are you sure you're all right? Would you like one of your pain pills?"

Frank shook his head. "How far are we from St. Louis?"

"We won't be there until tomorrow," Joe said. "You should go ahead and take a pill."

Frank frowned. "They make me all muzzy headed," he complained petulantly.

Nancy sighed in exasperation. "It's one pill," she said. "I know you hate it but I hate seeing you in pain."

Frank looked up at her but finally nodded. Nancy fished one of his pills from her small bag in the backseat and gave him a bottle of water to down it with. When he settled back again he went to sleep almost immediately and Nancy relaxed, feeling a little less worried.

"Maybe we should make him go stay with your mom," she suggested to Joe.

"It'll never happen," Joe shook his head. "Stubborn isn't just my trait, you know. He's at least as stubborn as I am."

"Hardy and stubborn are synonymous," Nancy smiled as she climbed into the back seat and got comfortable again. "You okay?"

"Who me?" Joe asked. "I'm great."

They continued westward, heading for the city of St. Louis. Nancy still felt the occasional knot of anxiety in the pit of her stomach, especially when Frank groaned, but she knew they were doing the right thing. Still, taking on an international terrorist was not something one did lightly; no matter how much help they were getting from outside sources.

Nancy knew part of the anxiety was worry over Frank and they very idea that his life was in danger made her stomach do flips. She wanted to take him and hide him away from any more danger in his life and not worry that he would be hurt.

"What do you think Ned wanted?" Joe asked suddenly and Nancy jerked, startled.

"What? What do you mean?" Nancy asked. "Are you still thinking about that?"

"I don't like the timing," Joe admitted. "I mean, I always liked Ned – he's a nice guy – but the timing is bugging the hell out of me."

Nancy frowned. "It's possible he just decided he had to call. He's like that sometimes – something comes to him and he has to act, then and there. I don't like the timing either, though and not just because of the new cell phones."

"What else don't you like?" Joe asked curiously.

Shrugging, Nancy stared out the window for a few minutes, thinking, trying to figure out what, exactly, was nagging at her.

"It's that we just got Frank back, Frank and I are finally working on a relationship and Ned calls me out of the blue for the first time in months," Nancy said finally. "More of a personal bearing than anything to do with our case. Unfortunately it's throwing me off, though."

"So push it to the back burner and we'll readdress it later on," Joe said. "Let's decide what to do when we get to St. Louis. We have to decide how to tackle this problem with Ras-Alman."

"We have to come up with a way, at the very least, of making him leave Frank alone," Nancy said. "Whatever else we do, that's the most important thing."

Joe nodded his agreement. "You have me there, Drew. So what first?"

"We develop a way for him to have to worry more about his business and less about his issues with Frank – and us. Which means financial problems."

"How do we create those?" Joe frowned. This was sounding less like a mystery to solve – which it wasn't really – and more like a war.

Nancy considered for a few minutes.

"I have a plan," she smiled at Joe. "But I need more time to develop it – and I want to talk to Frank about it too. But trust me. It's a good plan."

"Great," Joe muttered. "Trust me.

"Why are those the two most dangerous words in the English language?"


	8. Chapter 8 DriveBy Planning

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Drive-by Planning"

"Someone sounds just a tiny bit paranoid," Nancy smirked as she watched her friend fidget in his seat. "You aren't afraid of a little plan, are you Hardy?"

"If you've seen some of the things those words have gotten me into you wouldn't ask that question, Drew," Joe declared as he continued to drive. He moved over to the left hand lane to get past a large eighteen-wheeler in his lane. "Usually it's followed by some fool-hardy plan that nearly gets me killed!"

Nancy laughed, delighted and she leaned back in her seat again. In front of her, Frank shifted slightly and lolled back again, snoring softly as he tried to get comfortable. She leaned forward and gently brushed a hand along his face, grateful that he was alive, in one piece and with her. He'd heal from the broken rib.

"He's fine," Joe said as he watched her for a brief second before turning his attention back to the road. "Once we get back to work he'll act like nothing at all is wrong. And I'm sure he'll help you tweak his plan to cause me even more danger. Yep. This isn't going to be good."

"Like you wouldn't?" Nancy raised an eyebrow at him. "I know you, Joe. Never say die is your motto."

"Never give up! Never surrender!" Joe referenced the famous quote from the movie "Galaxy Quest". "That's my new motto."

Nancy laughed. "That does sound more like you. And I promise not to come up with a plan that will get you killed, okay?"

"Ha," Joe muttered under his breath. "I know better, Drew."

Nancy's eyes twinkled mischievously but she said nothing in response to that last retort.

The drive was quiet for a long while and they stopped to change drivers, allowing Joe a break as Nancy drove. Nancy continued to run through their options for taking down Ras-Alman and she hoped, more than once, that they weren't getting in over their heads. She and the Hardys were very good detectives and she knew it – but taking down an international terrorist just might be beyond them.

There was Diana to consider, though. Frank's daughter needed to grow up in safety – and with a lot of love surrounding her. The whole thought that Ras-Alman might one day get his hands on her caused Nancy to clench the steering wheel tightly in anger.

_It's not happening, _she thought. _You are not going to touch Diana, Ras-Alman. Never. And you won't get Frank either!_

"How are you?" Nancy nearly jumped through the roof when she heard Frank's voice and she turned to see him. He was still leaning back, one hand over the area of the break, a slight grimace on his face as he shifted very slowly into a more comfortable position. "Been driving long?"

Nancy peered at the clock on the dashboard and shook her head. "About an hour now. I'm fine, Frank. I should be asking how you're feeling?"

"About the same," Frank said. "You know, during that two years I was James Fleming I didn't miss the broken ribs, concussions or bruises at all. Sure didn't take long to get right back into it, did it?"

Nancy chuckled softly, mindful of Joe sleeping in the back seat. The light snoring of the younger Hardy was soft and didn't interfere with their talking.

"It doesn't, not with you two," Nancy agreed. "It's amazing how fast we can get into trouble when we're on a new case. I suppose that's part of the charm of being a detective."

"I'm not sure I would put it that way," Frank laughed then grimaced. "Remind me not to laugh, okay?"

"Sure," agreed Nancy as she leaned back in her seat. "No problemo."

Frank stared out the window and Nancy wondered if he was going back to sleep again. She shifted, flexing each arm one at a time and tensing and releasing muscles to avoid cramping.

"Are we sure we can do this?" he asked Nancy a few minutes later. "Take Ras-Alman down, I mean? He is powerful… and he carries a grudge."

"I don't know," Nancy admitted. "But the alternatives are a lot worse. We have to at least try to take him down, to keep you and Diana safe. I know Ras-Alman will carry through on those threats if he gets a chance. He's already tried."

"I know," Frank agreed as he held his side, sat up more fully and turned slightly to look at Nancy. A long leg was folded slightly and pulled up onto the seat as Frank turned, pulling the shoulder belt of his seatbelt so it stayed out of the way. "I've been thinking about that – when I haven't been sleeping. We need evidence, solid evidence, that we can use to take him down."

"Right," Nancy nodded and turned on her blinker to pass a slowpoke in front of her. "I think I should try on a disguise and infiltrate his company."

"No," Frank shook his head. "Nancy, he's a killer. He makes examples of people he views to be traitors. I think…"

"Don't even say what I know you're thinking, Frank Hardy," Nancy's voice rose slightly, causing Joe to mumble something unintelligible. "Don't even."

Frank reached a hand and touched Nancy's arm. "Nan, it's our best shot," he said. "And if I didn't have you and Joe to back me up I would never consider it, not in a thousand years. I just think the best way to get to him, to make him make a mistake, is to turn myself over to him."

"Not gonna happen!" Nancy protested again. "Frank, think about it. It's dangerous. You could be killed right away, instead of just brought to Ras-Alman."

"I don't think so. Nancy, love, think about it. He wants to make an example of me for running away, for, in his eyes, being responsible for Diana's death. I can get close to him again. And you guys can take him down and pull me out before it gets bad. I know you can."

Nancy frowned. "What if he takes you away right away? What if you get put somewhere we can't find you? We don't have backup here, Frank. We're here on our own – your dad will be too far away to help."

Frank shook his head. "He's already helped. He knows people! He doesn't have to be here in person to help us, you know."

Nancy sighed, knowing she was losing this fight. Hardy really was synonymous with stubborn. Every single one of them was too stubborn for their own good.

The whole thought of Frank turning himself over to Ras-Alman made Nancy's stomach hurt with anxiety. She wanted to lock Frank away, to keep him safe.

But he was an adult and, as such, allowed to make his own decisions. Frank hugged squeezed her arm and settled back.

"All right," Nancy said. "I don't like it. At all. But, okay, fine.

"You get yourself killed, though and I'm never going to forgive you. Got it?"

Frank smiled at her. "Got it."


	9. Chapter 9 Admitting the Truth

TAKING TO TASK  
CHAPTER NINE  
"ADMITTING THE TRUTH"

The rest of the trip was, thankfully, uneventful. Joe, still sitting in the backseat, hoped that their change of cars and cell phones helped full whatever devices Ras-Alman had in place to track them, allowing them just a hint of safety as they continued their trek to St. Louis. Joe relaxed as he watched scenery going by, consisting mostly of fields, houses and gently rolling hills. He cracked the window of the borrowed car open and felt the fresh breeze on his face, relaxing him even further. He rolled the window up when he caught wind of a large cow farm and winced. Nasty smell that.

Joe looked up front and saw Nancy relaxed as well, even as she drove. Frank was awake too and he and Nancy occasionally exchanged looks that made Joe wish he could just disappear and give them some alone time. It wasn't taking very long for Frank and Nancy's relationship to flourish; something, he suspected, they both wanted for a very long time.

By the time they arrived in St. Louis, they were all ready to get a hotel room and go to bed. Frank used a wad of cash to pay for their hotel room, putting it under an assumed name to make it harder for Ras-Alman to track them down.

The room – which was a suite with two rooms and a central living room area, was cozy and plenty of space for the three of them. They all sat down at the table in the living room area.

"So what are we doing?" Joe asked his two companions, unaware of what had been discussed earlier by Nancy and Frank. "You said you had an idea?" he asked Nancy.

"I got vetoed," Nancy nodded at Frank.

"Oh?" Joe looked over at his brother. Frank shrugged sheepishly but squared his shoulders into a stance that Joe knew only too well. Stubborn Frank was about to throw out a hair-brained idea that he knew Joe wouldn't like.

"I'm giving myself up to Ras-Alman," Frank said to Joe.

Joe flew out of his chair, anger immediately rising into his face as he clenched his fists.

"Like hell you are!" he declared angrily. "You'll give yourself up to Ras-Alman when I'm dead and not before, Frank!"

Frank glared at his younger brother but Joe was not swayed by that expression. He matched Frank glare for glare as he loomed over his brother.

"I just got you back from him," Joe said. "Do you think I'm going to let him kill you or brainwash you again or whatever he has in mind this time? Do you think I'm going to just willingly go along like a good little boy while you throw yourself onto the fire? It's not going to happen, Frank. And I can't believe you agree with him, Nancy."

Nancy shrugged, her expression clearly reading 'leave me out of this.' Joe rounded on Frank again.

"Wait!" Frank held up his hands. "Just wait, Joe. Let me explain."

"There is absolutely nothing you could say that would make me agree with this!" Joe said hotly. He felt heat in his face, a sign of just how angry he really was. "Nothing at all. There's nothing to explain because you aren't going to do it!"

"Yes I am," Frank said calmly. "Listen to me, Joe, please?"

Joe glared, crossing his arms as he sat down on the edge of his seat. He would hear his brother out but there was no way he was going to agree. No way at all.

"Look, Joe, I don't really want to get close to Ras-Alman again," Frank said. "But I don't have a choice. I don't. I need… I want… it's…"

"See, you can't even explain why," Joe interrupted his brother's stammering. "You can't come up with a good reason."

"This is the only way any of us are going to get close to Ras-Alman," Frank said to Joe, glaring hotly the whole time. "The only way. I've thought long and hard about this and I keep running up against this one idea. The only way to get anything on him is to get close to him. The only way to get close to him is to get inside – and I'm the only one that can do that. There's no way he would ever trust you or Nancy."

"And you think he'll trust you?" Joe scoffed and got back to his feet. Maybe if he kept moving he'd keep from throttling his brother. Maybe if he kept away from Frank…

"No," Frank admitted softly. "I don't think he'll trust me. I think… he wants one thing from me. Revenge. He wants me to pay for what happened to Diana…"

"And that's why we aren't going to just hand you over to him," Joe stated clearly. Joe studied the back of his brother's head, thinking. He knew what made Frank tick. Even a two-year separation wouldn't change, fundamentally, what made Frank… Frank.

"What other options do we have?" Frank demanded as he turned, wincing when he felt pain tug at his sore ribs. "What else can we do? I don't have any great, grand, ideas here, Joe. Just the one. That's it."

"What happened to Miriam wasn't your fault, Frank," Joe said to his brother in a soft voice.

"I… I know that!" Frank exclaimed. "I know it's not my fault, all right?"

"Do you really?" Nancy asked as she looked at him. She had been content to let the brothers argue this out themselves but she couldn't anymore.

Frank sighed and turned away again, walking across the room just to put some distance between himself and his brother. He needed to get away.

"She lied to you, Frank," Joe said coldly, advancing on him, not allowing Frank any space. "She told you that you were someone you weren't. She kept you from your family, your real family, for two years. She played along with whatever game her father was playing and didn't care at all what you really wanted or needed in your life. She's just as guilty of helping to brainwash you as Ras-Alman is. Don't ever forget that. What happened to her is not your fault. It. Is. Not. Your. Fault!"

Frank broke down then, slumping over, crying. Joe waited for a moment before he approached his brother and put an arm around Frank's shoulders. Nancy took his other arm and together they led Frank to the sofa.

"I know a part of you loved her, Frank," Joe said softly. "And I know a part of you may always love her in a way. But she betrayed you. She used you. And you can't ever allow yourself to forget that either. All right?"

Frank nodded, unable to speak. He tried to wipe his tears, to get them to stop falling because he felt foolish and stupid.

Joe was right.

None of it was his fault. Diana… Miriam… she'd lied to him.

And he'd bought it.

"So, what do we do?" he asked when he could speak. "If I don't… what do we do? How do we take Ras-Alman down?"

"We're going to stake him out," Nancy said. "We're going to take pictures of everything he does. We're going to be everywhere he goes. We may have to use a variety of disguises but, trust me, when all is said and done, Ras-Alman won't know what hit him.

"We do what we do best, Frank and Joe," Nancy smiled at them, blue eyes twinkling. "We hunt for clues, we pry into his life – and we solve the mystery.

"And in the end," she vowed softly. "We take Marcius Ras-Alman down."


	10. Chapter 10 Stakeouts

TAKING TO TASK  
CHAPTER 10

"STAKE-OUTS"

_I hate stake-outs._

I really, really, really hate stake-outs 

Joe Hardy sighed as he leaned back in the seat of the borrowed car and used the camera they bought that day to zoom in to the house across and down the street, making sure that nobody – he hoped, could see what he was doing. While he agreed that staking out residences and places of business and things like that were important to detective work, meant nothing.

_I loathe stake-outs with a passion._

Joe liked the idea of staking out much better than Frank's grand plan and Joe knew he was the best man for the job. Despite his blonde hair and blue eyes, Ras-Alman didn't know him that well, despite the one meeting just a short time ago. Joe had agreed to let Nancy dye his blonde hair to a sandy brown, using temporary hair color and he was wearing brown contacts.

_Strange. I look more like Frank this way,_ Joe thought. _Or, no, I look more like dad this way._

Nancy had watched him for a moment when he toweled his hair dry that morning and smiled, shaking her head.

"You never quite realize it because your coloring is so different," Nancy said when Joe asked her why she was staring at him. "But you two really do look a lot alike. Same bone structure, same skin coloring, slightly different builds of course. You have your dad's build, Joe. Frank has more your mom's build, slender. You both have your dad's height."

Joe grinned. "And we're both roguishly handsome too boot," he agreed.

Joe shook his head, drawing himself out of the memory and back to the task at hand. He did spare a quick glance in the mirror, shaking his head at the man who sat there. Familiar and unfamiliar both.

_I'll be glad when I get my own hair and eyes back,_ Joe thought.

Joe turned his attention back to Ras-Alman's large Victorian style house located in the St. Louis suburb of Frontenac. Located north of Interstate 64, Frontenac was both woodsy and urban, sporting some of the largest homes Joe had ever seen – with the exception of some of the richer areas of his home of Bayport. Obviously a very well-to-do neighborhood, it also had its own very high-priced looking mall, which, Joe noticed when he drove by that morning, had a Neiman Marcus on one end and a Saks Fifth Avenue on the other end.

_Probably couldn't buy a t-shirt in the place, _Joe sighed as he shifted position. _Probably ole Marcius' favorite place to shop._

Joe saw movement in front of Ras-Alman's house, finally, and he turned to see Marcius' very posh Red Mercedes pulling out from in front of the house. Joe hit the speed dial on his phone.

"Nancy, we're on the move," he said to his friend. "We're moving out. The subject is in his Daisy."

"Got it," Nancy came back. "Stay in touch."

Joe started the car and backed into a neighbor's driveway before starting out about a block and a half behind Ras-Alman. He supposed the other man was heading to work but didn't know for sure. He kept Nancy on the phone as he gave her directions where they were going – part of their security plan in case something went wrong during their stake-outs.

"Don't get too close!" Nancy admonished Joe. "Don't let him see you."

"Oh, I won't," Joe said. "I'm not an amateur, Nan."

Nancy's snort was quite audible over the phone and Joe made a face which, fortunately, she couldn't see. He smiled as he leaned back for the drive, staying several car-lengths behind Ras-Alman before he turned onto Manchester Road and headed toward the red-brick building that Joe remembered all too well from his last visit.

Ras-Alman parked the car in an indoor garage on one side of the building and Joe found a parking place across the street near an apartment building and settled back to wait.

Again.

"Too bad we can't get in there to find out what's going on," Joe said. "Got any ideas for that?"

"Not yet," Nancy said. "Give it time, Joe."

Give it time. Great. Fantastic.

Joe leaned back and crossed his arms to wait.

And wait.

It was too bad he couldn't turn the radio on, but that would both distract him and draw attention to him. He was glad the windows were partially darkened but it was awkward when he saw people walking by on the street. It was much harder to do a good stake-out on a busy street than in a quiet suburb.

Joe frowned as he shifted and he looked toward the passenger window.

His eyes widened when he saw two large men standing there, both of them holding large guns on him.

_Uh oh,_ Joe thought.

This was not in the plan…


	11. Chapter 11 Pieces of the Pie

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER 11

"Pieces of the Pie"

"I never realized just how many pies Ras-Alman has his hands into," Frank peered down at the computer screen in front of him, reading a financial report he pulled up from a semi-private website. Frank spent most of the morning ferreting out possible aliases his former father-in-law used and using those names to trace the businesses he owned. While the names he found were not conclusively Ras-Alman's aliases, the style of business was his to a T.

Nancy sat nearby, monitoring the cell phone, stopping occasionally to read over Frank's shoulder or just to nuzzle with him. Frank enjoyed having her close; their love was both old and new and something to be explored again for both of them. He knew if things worked out differently they would both have happily married their childhood loves – Ned and Callie – but they hadn't.

They were free to be together.

"Why do you think Ned called?" Nancy asked suddenly as she leaned back on the bed. "That's bugging me."

"Especially so soon after getting the phones, you mean?" Frank asked, slightly distracted from his perusal. He printed out several pages from the website and carefully highlighted the important details – the ones that earmarked Ras-Alman's business style – and finally looked over at his girlfriend again. "It doesn't have to be suspicious, Nan. Sometimes things are just coincidental."

"Maybe," Nancy sprang up from the bed and came over to take the reports that Frank sat to one side. "And maybe there's something else going on with him. It's driving me crazy."

"So call your dad," Frank suggested. "Maybe that's how Ned got the number. My dad said your dad was given the new number for your cell phone."

Nancy shook her head. "I don't think my dad would have given him the number without asking me first. He's pretty good about that."

Frank shrugged and ran another search on Google. While he did like the action side of detective work, he knew he was wholly suited to the more subdued side as well. Hunting and searching, finding a bad guy through paper trails was almost as satisfying as taking one out physically. Either way, as long as the bad guy in question went down, it didn't matter how it happened. Well, as long as it was legal anyway.

"Here," Nancy said to her boyfriend. She sat a cup of coffee in front of him. "I'm wondering if one of us should have went with Joe."

Frank shook his head. "Hard enough to hide one person much less two – and Ras-Alman would recognize both of us too easily. Going on his own was the best alternative – so long as he keeps up with his check-ins. When's his next one?"

Nancy checked her watch. "Ten minutes," she said. "Or sooner if he has to go somewhere again."

"Okay then," Frank nodded as he turned in his seat. He thought for a moment. "You know this could take us months, don't you?"

Nancy nodded. "I know," she said. "But it'll be worth it in the end."

Frank frowned as he got up and stretched. "It will, sure," he agreed. "But… I keep wondering if we really can hold him at bay for however long it takes to find enough evidence to bring him down for good. Irrefutable evidence."

"Well, we can already get him for kidnapping," Nancy commented. "He kidnapped you, after all."

"For some reason that's not enough for the F.B.I.," Frank declared. "They obviously want him on more than a measly kidnapping charge. I suppose I don't blame them for that."

"What about killing Miriam?" Nancy said. "They could get him for that. There's three witnesses, you know."

"I know," Frank shrugged. "Believe me, if I thought I had the time, I'd try to figure out how the F.B.I. operates. Obviously, again, they're after something more. I just don't know what that is."

"To catch him in the act?" Nancy asked softly. "Since he is reputed to be a terrorist… maybe they want to catch him…"

Frank stared into his girlfriend's blue eyes. "Maybe you're right. Just how many people do they want him to kill, though, before they stop him?"

"Evidence," Nancy breathed. "They need evidence that he's been involved in terrorist acts in the past – or that he intends to commit a terrorist act in the future. That's what they're waiting for. If they merely lock him away for murder or kidnapping, well, the very act itself could move to another person, another organization. IF they catch him about to commit the act, they can hopefully stop it!"

"Riiight," Frank agreed. "But what, where and why?"

"THAT is what we have to figure out," Nancy exclaimed. "That's it, Frank."

"What's it?" Frank asked curiously.

"We have to somehow figure out possible targets – maybe Joe can get something on his end… and we have to get evidence. Anything that can be used as explosives that Ras-Alman – or one of his companies – purchased."

"Yes!" Frank exclaimed in agreement. "That's perfect."

Nancy grinned and kissed Frank enthusiastically. They held the kiss for many moments, losing themselves momentarily in themselves. Finally they parted and Nancy gently stroked Frank's cheek.

Nancy looked back at her watch and frowned.

"Joe should have checked in by now," Nancy looked up at Frank. "Let's give him a call."

Nancy dialed the number for Joe's cell phone, trusting that he had it set on vibrate so it wouldn't be heard outside of the car. Maybe Joe fell asleep; it seemed unlikely but possible.

But the phone rang several times before it switched into voice mail and Nancy disconnected, looking up at Frank with large, scared, eyes.

"He's not answering," she said. "Something's happened!"


	12. Chapter 12 Into the Fire

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER 12

"…INTO THE FIRE"

Frowning, Joe stared at the two goons and sighed, feeling the weight of the world pressing down upon his shoulders. He slowly opened the door on his side of the car and stepped out, almost feeling the two revolvers pointed at his back. Joe raised his hands and waited – if he was going to get out of this in one piece, he was going to have to be patient and to think.

_Something,_ he admitted to himself at least, _I'm not always so good at!_

"Let's go across the street," Goon 1 said to him in an almost polite tone of voice. Goon 1 came around the car and took one of Joe's arms, nearly dragging him from the car and toward the redbrick building. Joe contemplated struggling but the business end of the gun pointed at his back stopped him and he allowed Goon 1 to lead him into the building.

"Down this hallway," Goon 1 grunted. Joe supposed he really should learn the goons' names sometime. He still hadn't ever learned who they were, other than they were two of Ras-Alman's band of thugs.

"You guys wanna tell me what's going on?" Joe cautiously pulled on his arm in Goon 1's grip but found the guy holding vise-like to it.

Neither of the goons answered him and Joe sighed. That was no help at all.

_I really doubt I'll get anymore help than that out of Ras-Alman either,_ Joe sighed. _Great._

He was led into a room at the back of the building and shoved inside. The goons locked the door, leaving Joe in the room alone.

Joe raced to the door and pounded on it. "Let me out you goons! Come on!"

Neither of the goons answered him and Joe's shoulders slumped in dejection. He turned to look around the small room and found it to be not much bigger than a janitor's closet. Unfortunately it was completely empty; there wasn't even an air vent, a bottle of bleach or a window in the place.

_Just great,_ Joe grimaced as he paced the room. Approximately seven steps long and five steps wide with a concrete floor, it afforded nothing in the way of comfort. Joe went back to pound on the door a few more times to no avail and with a sigh he sat down on the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees.

_This is another fine mess you got yourself into, Hardy. A simple little stakeout job and you manage to get made by the suspect and taken captive to boot. I can hear Frank, Nancy and Dad know, chewing me out for being inattentive._

_Except I wasn't! I was doing what I was supposed to do!_

Joe looked around the room again and sighed. He was at least glad there was a light in the room. He couldn't see anything resembling a light switch, which meant it was most likely controlled from outside the room. That meant the bad guys had control of whether he could see or not.

Joe rocked back and forth a little, trying to stay warm. He knew that Nancy and Frank would figure out he was missing when he didn't check in with them. He just hoped that neither of them got captured trying to get him out of here. Ras-Alman wanted Frank back; Joe just knew the terrorist was going to use him to get Frank to do what he wanted. Joe just hoped Frank had more sense than that.

Frank had Diana to think about.

Joe sprang to his feet when the door clicked and opened and Goon 2, holding a gun pointed at Joe's head, stepped into the room.

"Stand back against the wall, keep your hands up," Goon 2 ordered.

Joe stepped back cautiously until he was against the wall, his hands raised to either side of his head. Goon 2 stepped into the room, keeping his gun trained on Joe's head.

"Hey, there, Marc," Joe said impertinently to the man standing behind Goon 1 at the doorway. "What's up? Did you need something? You could have just asked."

Ras-Alman glared at Joe from behind his bodyguard. "You have something I want, Mr. Hardy."

"I do? What's that?" Joe asked as if he didn't know the answer already.

"My son-in-law, of course," Ras-Alman said. "You think I would not be watching for you?" Ras-Alman demanded of him as he came into the room behind his employee. "You think I would not know that you would watch for me? I knew you would remember this place, Mr. Hardy."

"Good for you," Joe commented snidely. "Glad you knew that I would remember it. What does it get you besides a whole lot of nothing? If you think for a single second I'm going to give Frank up to you, you can think again. I know you don't get the concept of loyalty, Marc ole buddy, but I'm very loyal to my brother."

"I do understand loyalty," Ras-Alman stepped closer to Joe and grabbed Joe by his collar, lifting Joe off the ground and shoving him back against the wall. "I am loyal to those who are loyal to me. My son-in-law has betrayed me and that betrayal will be paid for in full. If I must start with you, I will."

With that he threw Joe to one of the side walls, causing Joe to hit with a jarring, painful thud. Joe let out a cry of pain before he snapped his mouth shut and rubbed at his shoulder.

"Now," Marcius said, sounding all together reasonable. "As I was saying, my young friend. Where is James?"

Joe looked up at Marcius Ras-Alman, hate filling his blue eyes.

"I have… no idea… who you're talking about," Joe gasped painfully. "No idea."

Joe was lifted up off the ground again, this time by Goon #1. The goon held him tight while Ras-Alman hit Joe, hard, in the pit of his stomach. Joe would have doubled over in pain if he could have but, instead, he scowled painfully and struggled to break Goon 1's hold on his arms.

"Let's try again," Ras-Alman said pleasantly. "Where. Is. James?"

Joe met his gaze clearly and said, again. "I don't know anyone named James."

He barely managed to steel himself when Ras-Alman stepped forward and began to hit him.

Over and over again, until he collapsed in agony, still held up by Goon 1.


	13. Chapter 13 Missing In Action

TAKING TO TASK  
CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"MISSING IN ACTION"

_I didn't miss this feeling,_ Frank thought as he tried to calm his ragged nerves. During his time as James Fleming he never once had the feeling that his stomach was making a bid for freedom, never had to worry about adrenaline rushes that caused bright spots in his head. _I didn't miss that feeling that something is terribly wrong. I didn't know at the time that something was wrong but I didn't miss the feeling it brings. _

_  
Damnit, Joe! What are you doing missing a check-in? What are you doing not answering your bloody cell phone!_

Frank gave considerable thought to cursing, violently, as many times as he could. He had known, or rather felt, sending Joe to stake out Ras-Alman alone was a bad idea. Frank's former father-in-law was not only vicious and cruel, he was cunning and very intelligent. He knew how to run his affairs without getting caught. The Federal government had brought him in three times but had nothing with which to continue to hold him.

"We'll find him," Nancy murmured to her boyfriend as she gently stroked his arm, trying to relax him. They were in a second rental car, one that Nancy got from the hotel that morning under the alias given to her by the army contacts. Frank drove, following the directions given to them that morning by Joe so they would be able to find the building Joe staked out that morning.

Nancy was connected to the internet via wireless modem, tapping into one of Ras-Alman's companies, taking care to remove any trace of her intrusion into their system. Others had tired the same thing, obviously, and Ras-Alman had an eerie amount of security on his computer.

"Oh, my," Nancy said a moment later as Frank made the last turn onto Manchester road. "This is where… there's a large shipment coming in from New Orleans, up the Mississippi!"

"Shipment of what?" Frank, distracted, paid more attention to driving and looking than to his girlfriend. He looked at her a moment later, blinking guiltily. "What did you just say?"

"I said," Nancy said. "It's on one of those old fashioned steamships. One that Ras-Alman owns. Well, it's not in his name exactly, it's in an alias. A subsidiary company of a subsidiary company of a sister company of – you get the idea."

Frank nodded. A tangled web of ownership, more of Ras-Alman's uncanny business acumen.

Nancy brushed back a lock of her gold red hair and frowned, chewing on her lower lip as she worked. Frank watched her and wondered when she picked up that quirk. He didn't remember that from the past; she never really had what he called habitual mannerisms. Seeing her now, he smiled and relaxed back in his seat, wondering just when she started doing that.

"There's the car," Frank paused about a block down. He could clearly see their other car, parked in one of the streetside parking spots – and very empty. He could see well enough to know that Joe was not visible. He might be hiding out in the car.

"Let me just walk down real quickly and look," Nancy said. She pulled her long hair up and placed St. Louis Cardinal's baseball cap over her hair and handed the laptop to Frank. "Stay put."

"Right," Frank agreed, frowning.

Nancy was gone a moment later, walking casually down to the light behind them. She walked across the street and went in and out of a couple of different shops, one a book store, the other a clothing store. She came out of one of them with a small bag and she continued down the street and past their other car.

She went another two blocks down from the car, going in and out of two more stores before making her way back on Frank's side of the street and got into the car, tossing her three shopping bags into the back of the car.

"He's not in there," she said softly. "It was empty. I couldn't really look too closely but I don't think I saw his cell phone either."

Frank frowned. "Do you think he went and hid somewhere?" he asked.

"If he did why didn't he call?" Frank demanded. "He would have called, wouldn't he? He knows better than to just keep us waiting here."

Nancy nodded, laying a soothing hand on Frank's arm.

"You're right," she said softly. "So that leaves us with something we neither one want to consider. Ras-Alman has him."

Frank swallowed nervously, peering anxiously at his girlfriend. It was the same conclusion he'd come to but hadn't wanted to face.

"Blast it!" Frank exclaimed, hitting a large hand against the steering wheel of the car. "How could he get himself captured? Why?"

Nancy shrugged uncertainly. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'm so sorry. What do you want to do?"

Frank sighed and rubbed at his forehead, a headache starting to beat a tattoo inside of his head. He groaned.

"If he's in that building we have to go in and get him out," Frank admitted. "Have any ideas?"

Nancy paused, staring at the red brick building a block away. She had walked by it when looking in the car but had not stopped to look too closely; she hadn't wanted to draw attention.

"Let's go see if we can find a blueprint for the building," Nancy suggested. "We'd have an idea of where we were going before we try to get in there."

Frank paused nervously, his heart slowly climbing out of his throat again. He clutched the steering wheel tight enough that his knuckles turned white but he felt control returning again.

"Okay," he said. "Do you think he'll be alive by tonight? I assume we're going in tonight?"

Nancy nodded. "He wants you," she reminded Frank gently. "As long as he thinks Joe can help him get what he wants, either by luring you there or by getting Joe to tell him how to find you, he'll keep Joe alive."

Frank released the steering wheel, leaning back against the neck rest behind him.

"Fine," he said.

He looked at the red building again.

"Let's go back to the hotel, find those blueprints and make our plans. But I want to go in as soon as possible. Ras-Alman may need Joe alive – but Marcius can still hurt Joe. We… " the dark haired young man studied his friend for a moment. "We have to get him out."

Nancy leaned forward and gently touched Frank's arm. "I know," she said softly. "And, Frank, trust me when I say we ARE going to get him out. One way or another."


	14. Chapter 14 Paperclips

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Paperclips"

Joe groaned as he tried to roll over, a sharp pain shooting through his chest and abdomen as he attempted to move. The young man lay very still for a moment, breathing shallowly through his nose and mouth as he struggled for control over the pain and he mentally cursed Ras-Alman, the two goons and anyone else responsible for his current predicament.

_You're going down,_ Marcius, Joe thought again. _You're going down!_

Joe shivered slightly as he felt a cold breeze from above wafting down on him and he opened one eye a crack to see a vent overhead. A small piece of string caught on the vent was blowing straight out as the room continued to fill with what was cold air and Joe shuddered reflexively.

_Going to freeze me out, are you, Marcius?_

Joe stayed still for a moment, staring up at the string until it managed to break loose of the vent and float straight down, landing nearby on the floor. Joe looked at it for a moment and closed his eyes.

Time to forget the pain and sit up, Hardy. Time to start doing something more than doing your impersonation of a rock. While entertaining, it's hardly productive.

Joe sat up very quickly and bit on his lower lip to keep from crying out as a more intense pain shot through his chest and lower ribs. He held his hands tightly to his waist, trying to quell the pain while he moved. Joe stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back against the wall behind him, keeping both hands over his injured, bruised, cracked or broken ribs.

At least I can still breathe but I had better be careful. If I have any broken ribs I could perforate a lung by moving too much. So let that be your warning, Joe old pal. Move slowly.

Joe opened his eyes again and looked around the small room. 8' by 8' maybe, with one door on one wall and nothing much of note beyond the vent on another wall, it was very high, maybe two stories tall. Except for Joe, it was otherwise empty and Joe saw nothing that offered much hope of an escape.

If I had stilts I might reach that vent overhead but I doubt it, not with the state of my ribs. Anyone have a set of wings handy I can borrow?

Joe hated the thought of what he had to do next. Standing sounded like the very last thing he wanted to attempt. The top of the list was laying back down and going back to sleep, waking up if and when Frank and Nancy rode to the rescue.

No rest for the weary though, he thought with a grumble. No time like the present to see if the legs still work. Yup. Any second now, Hardy. That's right, pal, just put those legs underneath and slide up the wall, not down.

His body refused to cooperate, at least for the moment. While his mind had all the will in the world, the body, as they said, was weak and in pain and wanted nothing of any idea that might cause more pain. His body was already plenty mad for his mind's obstinate refusal to give up Frank to Ras-Alman.

Then again, Ras-Alman never asked for Frank. He asked for James.

Sorry, Marcius. Don't know anyone by that name.

As satisfying as it had been to defy Ras-Alman and keep him from getting his hands on Frank, Joe wished there had been another way. He hated getting the crap beat out of him and when he got loose he was going to definitely make sure those two creeps out there paid big time for the damage.

With that warm and happy thought, Joe placed one hand firmly over his ribs, the other on the wall behind him and, holding his breath, he shifted.

The first try was a complete and total failure. He lay gasping on the ground, struggling to get his breath back again. He lay very still on the concrete floor beneath him and blinked back stars and tears and shifted again until he was sitting up again, ignoring the agony that flooded him from bow to stem.

Damnit that hurt, he thought bitterly. Bloody hell!

But, with that still cheery thought, he tried again and this time, he managed to stand. His ribs seemed to poke at him from inside but he managed to stay on his feet.

Good, Joe leaned against the wall behind him. I'm up. Look at that. Pretty soon I'll be running a marathon.

Joe stayed for a long while, leaning against the wall that supported him, breathing shallowly so as not to jar the ribs and thinking dark thoughts about what he was going to do to the goons as soon as he found them. Currently torn between hot oil and thumb screws, he made his legs move and he walked to the door, trying the knob when he got there.

Well, of course it's locked you idiot, Joe thought. You expect them to shove you in the closet and just walk away so you can escape?

It was a nice thought, really. Open the door, check outside, bash a goon's face in and get the hell out of here while the getting was good. That seemed a sound enough plan to him!

Of course, reality faced him with a locked door. Joe stared at it for a moment and then checked his pockets. No handy pocketknife, no writing pen, nothing he could use to jimmy the lock open.

Not one to be daunted, though, Joe looked around the room some more, praying for inspiration – anything that would help him MacGyver the lock open. He walked the edges of the room, looking into nooks and crannies and was rewarded when he found a paperclip laying on the floor.

On floor. All the way down there on the cold concrete floor when Joe was all the way up here, not on the concrete floor.

I am going to hate this, Joe thought with a groan as he prepared himself to crouch down on the floor. I am really, really going to hate this.

Joe bent slightly and then folded his legs until he was sitting on his heels. He reached a hand down and carefully swiped up the paperclip, holding it in a tight grip as he balanced.

How do I get up from here? Joe frowned as he placed the hand holding the paperclip over his ribs and his free hand on the wall behind him. Pushing up with calf and thigh muscles, he managed to achieve a standing position and he leaned against the wall for a moment, struggling to catch his breath again.

Finally able to breathe again, Joe made his way over to the door and stuck one of the ends of his paperclip into the lock, jimmying it back and forth until he found the locking mechanism.

Joe folded the paperclip around until he had both ends of the clip inside the lock and he adjusted each end carefully, twisting one end slightly and pulling up with the other end until the lock made a clunk, click sound and Joe was able to open the door.

Cautiously, he peered out into the hallway and saw that it was fortunately empty. Saying a quick prayer that something was going his way for a change he stepped out into the hallway, still holding the trusty, door-opening paperclip. The hallway was dim, almost dark from lack of a decent overhead lighting source but he saw a soft glow coming through the window at the end of the hall that gave him a direction to follow.

Joe walked slowly, keeping one hand on the wall, taking each step carefully so as not to make any additional noise. When he reached the end of the hall he found that he faced a set of stairs going up and not down and he grimaced at the thought of going up them.

You plan on stopping now and giving up? I didn't think so.

Joe took his first step cautiously, carefully feeling each step before putting his full weight on it, ascending slowly to the next floor. It was strange that there was no one else here. He knew that a man like Ras-Alman had to have more security and goons than the two Joe had seen; would any of them be waiting for him on the next floor? He hoped not.

Finally, however, he was on the next floor – the main floor of the building that led to the entrance.

Joe turned to go out the door when he heard a step behind him and he turned, biting on his lip to keep from crying out in pain as a large hand clamped down on his shoulder and pulled him forward.


	15. Chapter 15 Helping Hand

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Helping Hand"

"Sssh, kid," Joe froze in place when he felt the meaty hand clamp down on his shoulder and he froze, cursing himself for not being fast enough. He was pulled backward and almost lost his balance as the larger man pulled him along until they were near a doorway.

"What kind of stupidity are you up to Kid?" the voice of Goon 2 demanded in a hostile tone of voice. "What are you doing lurking around Ras-Alman's place? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Joe was taken aback by the man's harsh words and he studied his assailant as he tried to make sense of the man's words. Joe felt bad, his whole body ached from his previous beating and everything hurt. Going down steps and sneaking his way out was not easy under any circumstance; doing it when beaten half to death was foolishness – but necessary foolishness.

Joe felt the world spin around him for a moment and he had to hold on tightly to the man who had his shoulder while Joe got his bearings again. With each passing moment on his feet, the pain seemed to get worse until Joe felt as if his whole middle was one gigantic ball of fiery agony.

The goon – as Joe mentally thought of all of Ras-Alman's henchmen – watched him for a moment, the hostility replaced by concern.

"You couldn't wait for help, could you?" the other man demanded. "Had to be a hero."

"I had to… get away…" Joe gasped. "Couldn't sit there… and wait to get killed. Not telling… Ras-Alman… what he wants to know! You taking me back?"

"You shouldn't have been here in the first place," the man hissed at him. "What kind of… you want Ras-Alman to kill you? You think he doesn't have ways of hunting you down? You think he doesn't know that your brother and his girlfriend are in the area and likely hunting you down even as we speak? Use your brain Kid!"

"He wants to kill my brother!" Joe hissed angrily, ignoring the pain in his ribs and stomach to glare at the goon. "Ras-Alman already took too much of my brother's life away from him, he's not getting anymore, not if I have anything to say about it"

The goon glared at him in frustration. "So you just bumble in, assume Ras-Alman is really stupid and get yourself caught and beat up. That's what you do?"

Joe shrugged. "I'd do more than that if it got Ras-Alman behind bars and assured Frank's safety."

Joe paused for a moment.

"Are you taking me back or can I get out of here?" Joe demanded. "I'm sure standing here debating it isn't the smartest thing in the world for either of us."

The goon continued to glare but he pushed Joe forward down the hall toward the door. Joe grimaced in pain again but kept walking as the Goon walked behind him.

"Your car's still across the street," the man said. "Get in it and get out of here. Don't let me catch you near here again."

Joe stopped short of the door and turned back to the man. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Nobody you need to know," the goon said. "Let's just say I have my own reasons for bringing Ras-Alman down and I DON'T need your help! Get out of here, Kid. I have to go plant a false trail."

The last shove toward the door nearly sent Joe to his knees. Joe struggled to catch his breath, gasping painfully as he wrenched the door open and cautiously moved out into the cooling night air. The car he had driven here was, as the man said, parked across the street and Joe turned to see the door being closed and locked behind him.

Joe looked toward the car and wished it were about twenty feet closer. As it was, getting inside and trying to drive anywhere was problematic. He doubted he'd make it twenty feet before passing out and he really wanted to get out of here.

He was about to hobble forward when a car stopped in front of him and he fell to the ground…

Too much being too much, Joe Hardy let the darkness that swirled around him take over.

"Anyone here for Joe Hardy?" a doctor's voice rang out from the doorway to the waiting room where Frank Hardy and Nancy Drew sat holding hands, worrying about what was wrong with Joe.

"Us," Frank waved his hand in acknowledgement. He and Nancy stood and approached the doctor, walking with him down the hall to a private office and sitting down with him. The office was decorated in comforting shades of blue and green, from the painted walls to the upholstery on the chairs. The wood on the desk the doctor sat behind was a light oak, solid looking and neat with only a single folder sitting on top.

"I'm Doctor Sawyer," the doctor introduced himself. The doctor was middle-aged, about six foot tall with brown hair and blue eyes. When he smiled, a dimple appeared in his left cheek. "I've been treating Joe since he arrived. I want to assure you that he's going to be okay. He was badly beaten and has several cracked ribs and some large contusions on his abdomen, but they will all heal with time. I want to keep him in the hospital for at least two days to keep an eye on him and then he's going to have to rest and take it easy for at least three weeks following his release."

Frank relaxed just a little at hearing the diagnosis and treatment.

"In the meantime," Doctor Sawyer continued. "You can both go see him as soon as he's settled into his room. It will be up on the third floor. You can ask at the nurse's station in about twenty minutes. He's sleeping right now; I gave him a mild sedative and he's on a painkiller that's going to keep him pretty well out of it."

Frank nodded and looked at Nancy who had squeezed his hand in support.

"I should warn you," the doctor said a moment later. "Because of the nature of Joe's injuries, I had to call in the police. They'll want to question him later to find out what happened – they will probably want to question you as well."

Nancy sighed, worried, and looked over at her boyfriend. Frank shrugged and smiled at her.

"It'll be okay," he said softly.

The doctor watched this with narrowed eyes. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Frank looked up at him for a moment. "Only that he was undercover when he got injured… we weren't really wanting anyone to know what we were doing… now we could all have our covers blown…"

"Maybe they're already blown," the doctor commented. "Whatever the case may be, we had procedure and policy to follow on this case. I'm sorry."

Nancy shrugged. "It's okay, Doctor. Thank you for doing what you can for Joe."

They got up and left the office and headed out to the waiting room again.

When they got there they both froze when they found themselves standing face-to-face with the last person they expected to find in St. Louis.

"Ned!" Nancy's exclaimed.


	16. Chapter 16 Game On!

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"GAME ON"

Ned brushed a hand through his thick hair and shifted uncomfortably from foot-to-foot as Nancy stepped away from him and frowned defiantly at him. She very purposefully put her hand into one of Frank's and held onto his arm with her free hand, keeping herself well within Frank's well of safety as she regarded her former boyfriend. Ned merely stood, looking boyish and handsome and very much the same as the last time that Nancy saw him, despite the suit he wore.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy demanded a moment later when she got her composure back. "Why did you come here? How did you find us?"

"I've been keeping an eye on you," Ned admitted, the boyish expression leaving his face as he stood a little straighter. "You're in over your head this time, Nan. You shouldn't have ever gotten involved with Marcius Ras-Alman."

"What are you talking about Ned?" Nancy demanded hotly. She had never felt so angry in a long time, not even when Ned walked away from her after their failed engagement. She remembered loving this man, wanting to spend the rest of her life with him, wanting to know she'd wake up in the morning in his arms and feel his breath on her skin and he had taken that away from her.

And now he was here, talking mysteriously, like he had a clue what he was saying!

Ned sighed and motioned to a nearby doorway. "Let's go in there and talk," he said. "I have some things you should probably know before you get more in over your head than you are now. I don't want you to argue with me Nancy. Frank. Let's go."

Nancy whirled on her heel and went into the room indicated. It was another office but they weren't going to be alone here. There was another man in a suit similar to Ned's standing there, the phone receiver from the desk to his ear as he talked in low tones. Ned motioned to the empty chairs and Nancy and Frank sat down in them, still keeping contact with each other by holding hands.

"I guess I should confess something now," Ned sighed as he sat down in one of the other chairs. "I, uh don't know quite how to say this."

"Usually you just open your mouth and words come out," Frank said mildly. He'd been awfully quiet since the talk with the doctor and Nancy knew he wanted to get upstairs to see Joe. "That's the best way to say anything."

"Fine," Ned glared at Frank for a moment before turning a more placid expression on Nancy. "I'm older than you think I am, Nancy. I graduated from the University of Illinois – Chicago four years before you think I graduated from Emerson."

Nancy's eyes went wide at that little tidbit of information.

"I'm sorry I kept it secret from you but there were… reasons for that, reasons I can't go into right now. I'm a special agent, based out of the office in Chicago and I've more or less been undercover since I was assigned here."

"Undercover?" Nancy demanded. "Doing what?"

Ned sighed. "There was a major drug ring running on Emerson. Since I was still very young – and young looking – I went undercover as a student there. That's how we met, of course, but I couldn't tell you what I was doing – it was too dangerous for you and me for you to know. You were getting into all those mysteries and I was in over my head trying to track down the major players in the drug ring."

Ned paused and looked down at his hands for a moment. The other man, obviously another agent, was off the phone and perched on the edge of the desk.

"I really did fall in love with you Nancy," Ned confessed softly. Nancy froze, not wanting to hear it. "But it couldn't last. I… our duties were going to interfere. I had my chosen path and you had yours and nothing was going to get in the way of that, not even each other. It was… it was easier to call off the engagement…"

"And let me think it was all my fault!" Nancy exclaimed. She wanted to get up and hit him now, really hard. Normally a non-violent person, the burst of anger she felt nearly bowled her over. She had to calm down before she really did something bad.

Frank caressed her hand gently and made a calming noise that she barely heard.

"I'm sorry," Ned said softly. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I'm afraid I was… I was totally messed up inside. I kept having nightmares where you got badly injured – or killed – from something I did and it was easier to push you away and, I admit… I was hoping you would blame yourself and quit being a detective. I was so scared for you… it was stupid, Nancy, I KNOW that. You can hate me all you want but you won't hate me more than I hate myself."

Ned paused, sighing.

"That brings me to what you're doing, though," he said. "In the last six months I've been here, assigned to the Ras-Alman case. That's my partner over there, Agent Samuel Sinclair."

Sinclair, a man in his thirties, waved to them, a quirky smile on his face.

"The Bureau would have our heads if they knew what we were about to tell you," Ned continued. "But I feel we don't have a lot of choices here. You need to know what's going on and we need your help – all three of you. I've told Sinclair how good you all are at detective work and I think… I know we can use that."

Sinclair nodded. "Which is why I agreed to any of this."

"Okay," Frank said cautiously. "What?"

"We have a major leak in place at Ras-Alman's – not just the agent who was killed a month ago but another man. Ras-Alman has a major action planned in two weeks, a terrorist act. The man – our leak – says Ras-Alman is organizing the bombing of the Arch and Busch Stadium. What we need, however, is to tie him directly into it. So far, he's only the planner, he's not getting his hands dirty by coming out and doing anything himself. We need you guys to draw him out, make him act rashly, do something stupid… he's got a major case of 'hate' on you guys and we can use that."

Nancy's eyes were wide with shock. "You should just stop him now, before someone gets hurt!"

"Nobody is going to get hurt and no major landmarks are getting blown up, Miss Drew," Agent Sinclair said. "But if we don't at least let them plant the bombs, Ras-Alman will be out in a week, maybe less, because his lawyers are that good. If we catch him in the act of the crime, he's gone for good. That's what we're working on."

Nancy and Frank exchanged looks of worry.

"We need you two to draw them out," Sinclair said. "We're raiding his house in St. Charles and the building on Manchester. That's going to make him desperate to begin with. If you guys are openly working with us – me that is – he'll know where it's coming from and you guys will definitely be on the hit parade. He'll want to see to your… demise… himself. Of course, we won't let that happen."

Nancy shook her head. "No," she said. "We need to do more. There has to be something else, something… look, Frank has a baby!"

Ned nodded. "We know that, Nancy. And Ras-Alman will do anything he can to get his hands on her."

"So you want us to cause as much trouble for him as we can?" Frank asked, a small smile on his face.

He looked at Nancy and squeezed her hand, looking certain and resolved.

"We can do that. Oh yeah, we can cause trouble for Ras-Alman."

He grinned now and Nancy felt herself giving in.

"Game on!"


	17. Chapter 17 Promises Made

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Promises Made"

Frank held gently to his girlfriend's hand as Nancy sat back, hard, in one of the seats in the small office. Blue eyes wide with shock, she looked ready to do one of two things – keel over, or get up and punch out Ned Nickerson with one fury-fueled blow to his face. Fortunately for all of them, Ned and his partner stepped out of the small office to give them some time alone and Frank drew Nancy into his arms and held her.

"I hate him," Nancy whispered. "I hate him so much, Frank. How could he do this? I… used to dream of marrying him. From the first day I met him, I used to imagine being Mrs. Ned Nickerson. He led me to believe it was all my fault he wasn't marrying me. He… he nearly destroyed me."

"But he didn't," Frank soothed her gently as he stroked her soft hair. He always loved her hair. Outdoors, the sun glinted off the red in her hair, making it look as though she had a halo instead of hair, a beautiful halo that cascaded down her back in a beautiful blaze. There were times when they were outside he could barely keep his eyes off her, all the while feeling guilty because of his relationship with Callie.

Frank sent a mental 'forgive me, babe' to Callie and wished her well once more before he squared his shoulders to deal with the woman in his life now. For better or worse, richer or poorer – whether the vows had been spoken between them or not – Nancy Drew was his girlfriend.

"He didn't destroy you, love," Frank said softly as he continued to stroke her hair and she relaxed into his arms, angry tears wetting one of Frank's sleeves. "You're here and you're strong. Whatever he did – whatever happened between the both of you – it's in the past. All you can focus on now is the present and the future…"

Frank paused as he gently reached out and took a hand into his own, squeezing it as he looked into her eyes.

"We both messed up so much in the past, Nancy," Frank said softly. "We were… we flirted around with each other too much. We let feelings we shouldn't have interfere with our lives. And we were wrong, so wrong, with what we did back then.

"Now we can be together – anymore than we shouldn't have played on our emotions back then, we shouldn't let what's in the past interfere with our now, our present and what we will hopefully have in the future. That's important. Got it?"

Nancy nodded. "I've got it. I just realized too, we should tell them something. That boat… the steamboat… he should know about that, shouldn't he?"

Frank agreed. "Let's make sure he knows, then we'll go up and see Joe for a few minutes before he's completely out of it. And we'll have to deal with the police too."

Frank wasn't looking forward to dealing with the police in any form whatsoever. It was going to be really hard to explain everything that was going on to them and there was no way to determine whether they would believe him or not.

Nancy opened the door and found Ned and his partner out in the hallway. She called them both to come back for a minute.

"I remembered something," Nancy said. "I was doing a search through Ras-Alman's business mainframe – don't ask how – and I found out there's a shipment of some kind coming up from New Orleans via steamship. One of those old-fashioned riverboat kinds. The ship's name is the Dolly Mae. You might want to check that out."

We are, Frank thought with a sudden burst of an idea. We'll figure this out one way or another.

"You got this how?" Sinclair asked. "We've been looking for large shipments – something off the main books – but we were expecting it to come by freighter or even plane. He owns several boats which we've been checking out regularly but we found no hint of a steamer…"

"I broke into his mainframe," Nancy repeated. "He has great encryption on his systems – not quite good enough for the program I use but very good. He has ownership of the Dolly Mae carefully hidden – openly it's owned by the St. Louis Museum. At least, if you look at the public papers but if you go deep enough… there it is. It's on its way in from New Orleans with a 'package'… a large package."

Sinclair and Ned exchanged stunned looks.

"Another thing," Frank commented. "The doctor who's treating Joe called in the police…"

"We'll deal with them," Ned said. "This is our case, not theirs. Don't worry about it."

Frank nodded and, taking Nancy's hand, went to go find his brother.

**HARDYBOYSNANCYDREWHARDYBOYSNANCYDREWHARDYBOYSNANCY**

Joe blinked sleepily as he saw his brother and Nancy come into his room and he forced his eyes to open more widely so he could pay proper attention to them. He didn't want to be here, in the hospital, despite his injuries from the beating. He had more important things to deal with, like keeping his brother safe from Ras-Alman and laying here wasn't the cards.

"Whassup?" Joe managed in a sleepy, slurred kind of voice. He cleared his throat harshly so he could speak a little more clearly. "When d'get out of here?"

"When the doctor says and not before," Frank gently touched Joe's hand and Joe smiled at him. "You've got quite a number of injuries going on, little brother. You need some time to heal."

"Helpin' you take out… Rat-Man," Joe murmured insistently. They weren't about to leave him out of all the fun! He'd gotten beat up by the guy. Had his brother taken. He was gonna help take out Rat-Man!

Frank and Nancy exchanged amused expressions and Joe glared as best he could when he wanted to just go to sleep. Or at least a large part of him wanted to go to sleep. The fighter in him wanted to stay awake and kick some butt. Ras-Alman needed to pay big… time… his eyes began to close again and he forced them open.

"You can help later," Frank promised him and Joe eyed him suspiciously. "I won't leave you out of the action, Joe."

"Promise?" Joe demanded and he glared when Nancy laughed. "Promise!"

"I promise," Joe felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder and he sighed. "We'll be good. You're part of the team."

Joe's suspicions died off a little.

"What… doin'?" he asked.

"Helping the F.B.I.," Frank sat down in the chair beside Joe's bed. "Guess who's an F.B.I. agent?"

Joe looked up at Frank. "Who?"

"That would be the one and only Ned Nickerson," Frank said. "Go figure that one, huh?"

"That's nuts," Joe said. "No way."

"Way," Nancy interrupted. "He just made the big confession. The jerk!"

Joe eyed her for a moment, suspiciously.

"What…doin'?" he asked again.

"Not sure yet," Frank said. "For tonight, probably going back to the hotel and sleeping. Tomorrow we'll see how you're doing and spring you if the doctor says it's okay. We need to find out more about the steamer…"

"Steam-er?" Joe whispered. He frowned. Those darned painkillers…

"Nancy found a connection between Ras-Alman and a steamer coming up from New Orleans," Frank said. "And so we might go check that out. It has a 'package' on board." Frank drew quotes around the word package. "Look, Joe, you should go to sleep. We'll tell you everything in the morning, okay? I doubt you'll even remember this."

"Will too," Joe exclaimed.

But, the next day, of course, he barely remembered the visit, much less anything that was said…


	18. Chapter 18 Dolly Mae

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"Dolly Mae"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" Joe held his hand over his taped ribs as he shifted uneasily in the backseat of the car and tried to quell the pain. Joe ignored the sympathetic looks from the front seat as he shifted, slowly, and found a much more comfortable position. Leaning his head back he closed his eyes and wondered if maybe he wasn't being too stubborn for his own good. Maybe.

"Maybe we should take you to the hotel," Frank suggested, not for the first time since the doctor released Joe earlier that day. "You aren't going to do yourself any good if you puncture a lung by doing too much."

"I'm helping," Joe insisted. He had taken some ibuprofen earlier that day, not wanting a stronger painkiller that would make him all loopy. Joe preferred having all his wits about him when fighting bad guys and things with Ras-Alman were very personal now. He would see this one to the end, one way or another. "Not going back to the hotel unless you guys are. What did you say we were doing?"

Nancy exchanged a smile with Frank and ignored Joe's white-hot glower from the back seat. Joe nudged the front seat with a hand, careful not to jar his ribs.

"Steamship," Frank reminded Joe. Joe vaguely remembered something about a steamer ship or a riverboat or something like that. The Dolly whatsit? "Ras-Alman owns one, called the Dolly Mae. There's a package – read shipment – arriving from New Orleans, docking near the Arch. We're going to see about getting on board, one way or another."

"Yeah, if the F.B.I. isn't already there poking their noses around," Nancy muttered. Obviously, learning about Ned still rankled. Joe remembered that from this morning when they interviewed him about his injuries. Ned, an F.B.I. agent. Who would have figured that one?

"Interesting bit there," Joe said. "Since when is Ned Nickerson F.B.I.?"

"Since before I knew him," Nancy said. "Shows how great a detective I am, doesn't it?"

"Or how good he is at undercover work," Joe grimaced again. His ribs were going to be the death of him yet and this car – did Frank have to hit every single pothole in the road?

"Mmm," Nancy noncommittally stated. She looked back at Joe for a moment and saw the pained expression on his face and shook her head. "MUST you be so stubborn, Joe?"

"Must," Joe agreed with a grin. "Part of… my charm. Joe Hardy, brain, brawns and stubborn veracity."

"Brain?" Frank asked curiously. "Because I'm pretty sure I'm not the one riding around out here with broken ribs and more bruises and cuts than I can count. And I'm not the one who only took an over the counter painkiller too. Nope, I don't think we can credit you for brains today, little brother. You gave those up somewhere along the line."

Joe rolled his eyes eloquently. "I'll have you know that the girls love me for my brainpower, my ability to put two and two together to get four. I'm a natural talent, unlike some people I can mention who have to WORK at it."

Frank snorted and Joe resisted the urge to laugh. Laughing was so not a good idea right now. In fact, in the way of ideas, laughing was very low on the list at the moment.

"Okay, okay, you're smart," Frank agreed. "And you have natural intelligence. We always knew that. That leads us back to stubborn…"

"You're just as bad as he is," Nancy reminded her boyfriend tartly. "The both of you together are worse than any thousand other stubborn people. Running around with gunshot wounds, knife wounds, broken limbs, broken ribs… never knowing when it's time to slow down and let your body heal. Don't even think you're not as bad as he is, Hardy."

Frank grinned. "And you're saying you're NOT, Drew?"

Nancy shrugged but Joe saw her blush.

"How far is it to this place?" Joe asked. "And must you hit every hole in the road, Frank? Aren't there better roads between here and there?"

Frank looked in the rearview mirror and winked at Joe. Joe nudged the back of his seat with a foot and winced in pain when it pulled on his ribs.

"Remind me to kill you later okay?" Joe asked his brother. "Because you need it. Badly. That or just a solid butt-kicking would work."

Frank snorted and laughed. "You wish. Even at your best, little brother, you wouldn't be able to kick my butt."

"Your memory is obviously still altered," Joe grinned. "Because you were never able to take me."

Nancy shook her head, laughing at both of them.

The banter had its desired effect. By the time they arrived on Leonor K. Sullivan Blvd. they were relaxed and ready to take a look around. Frank parked in one of the many parking lots located in the area and they walked, slowly so that Joe could keep up, down toward the riverside area. There were already several riverboats, some of them permanent fixtures, on the water, along with other smaller boats.

It took them about ten minutes to find out where the Dolly Mae moored, at a location called "Steamer Dreams" that allowed a person to take a dinner cruise on the steamer and which took a trip down to New Orleans once a month.

The smell down here was pretty intense, not something any of them enjoyed. They stood for a moment watching the boat; it was fairly empty at the moment with only crewmen bustling about, washing the hull, moping decks and wiping down all of the windows so that the ship sparkled.

"Do you think they took the shipment off already?" Frank asked softly as he watched the crewmen working.

"It just docked forty or so minutes ago," Nancy said. "I don't think they could have gotten it off already, not before the passengers disembarked. They may wait until the crew is gone before they unload it."

"Someone should get closer," Joe said. "See if you can get a look around."

"And if any of Ras-Alman's henchmen are on board, they'll recognize us immediately and we could be in major trouble," Frank shook his head. "The idea here is to not get killed, remember?"

Joe sighed. "So what do we do? Just stand here?"

"Look over there," Nancy pointed to the other side of where the ship was docked. They could see Ned and his partner there, along with several other agents. "Looks like they've either got a search warrant or they're waiting too. Great, they may never unload that cargo…"

So far, the F.B.I. had not moved in on the boat yet, but it was just a matter of time before they did. Joe continued to scan the ship, looking for anything that would give them a clue as to where they wanted to go. He moved cautiously forward, ignoring hisses from Frank and Nancy, until he was right beside the docked ship and able to touch the hull. He looked through a couple of portholes he saw but nothing was immediately visible through them; obviously the porthole provided the only lights in the rooms inside. It was shadowy.

He stepped back for a moment and walked down the path away from the ship and turned around again, his eyes going wide with shock when he did.

"Frank, Nancy," he hissed suddenly. "Come here!"

Frank and Nancy ran to Joe's side and stopped, peering around the back of the boat to what Joe had seen on the other side.

There, two men wearing black scuba gear were offloading two large crates into the back of a sleek, fast-looking powerboat.


	19. Chapter 19 Giving Chase

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"Giving Chase"

Frank, Nancy and Joe all exchanged looks and Frank glanced over at the F.B.I. contingent. It would make the most sense to tell them where the crates were; they should have the ability to stop the bad guys before they got away. Frank waved to Ned who shot him a brief nod before turning back to the gangplank leading onto the Dolly Mae. Frank saw Ned speaking to his partner but couldn't make out the words. A few moments later, though, Ned walked casually to the dockside where the Hardys and Nancy waited.

"There," Frank murmured, motioning to the other side of the Dolly Mae. "Speedboat. Better stop them before they leave."

Ned smiled and held his hand up to his face. Pressing a button he spoke into his hand. "This is agent Nickerson," Ned said. "Team D, E and G start up now. Team H on standby. Do not intercept until the package is delivered. Repeat, do not intercept until the package is delivered."

Ned waved toward another dock further down the riverfront, near the moored Burger King riverboat and Frank made out another boat there. Fast looking, with smooth, powerful lines, it reminded Frank of the craft he piloted as a youth, the Sleuth.

"Come on," Ned murmured. "Go slowly, don't do anything to draw attention to yourselves."

They walked casually down the dockside to the connecting dock that took them to the smaller craft. They climbed on board and Ned took the wheel, firing up the ship.

Across the river three speedboats were running the course, dodging around larger ships in the mighty Mississippi. Frank tied off a life jacket Ned threw to him and helped Joe with his own.

"You should have stayed behind," Frank chided his brother again. "You're going to hurt those ribs more."

"Shoulda, coulda, woulda," Joe muttered. "I'm here and you might need my help. Not going anywhere, got it?"

Frank sighed and nodded. Trust his brother to maintain that inflexible attitude of his. Never mind the dangers to himself, as long as he could move, he'd be fighting.

Frank smiled, unable to help himself. He expected no differently from Joe.

The craft carrying the packages from the Dolly Mae and Ras-Alman's men sped down the Mississippi, nearly a mile away from the St. Louis Arch area. Frank and Joe exchanged confused looks, wondering why they would deliver those so far away if the Arch were the target. Frank shrugged again as Ned slowed his boat down and they bobbed in the waves while the other powerboat docked.

"This is Agent Nickerson," Ned said into his hand again. "Teams D, E & G move in now." He rattled off directions like the professional he was and carefully moored the boat near the shore so that they could all get off.

"I want you guys to stay down and stay back," Ned ordered the Hardys and Nancy. "I know you can handle yourselves in a fight but this is a federal operation. I'm breaking more rules than I want to think about by bringing you this far but I want you to be able to give me a positive ID on Ras-Alman when we locate him."

Frank nodded. "That goes double for you, Joe," he warned his brother in a low voice. "Don't get hurt again."

Joe looked irate but said nothing. Frank glared at his younger brother until Joe nodded reluctantly. "All right, fine, okay, I'll be careful."

Frank wasn't so sure but, for now, there wasn't much he could do about it. Joe was Joe; he really didn't want to change his brother, not for anything. There was no better partner in the world that was for sure.

"There," Ned whispered as he pointed to a small, one story, former storefront located along the waterfront. "That's where they're going."

There were three men carrying each of the crates, indicating that they were of some size and weight. Ned kept his eyes peeled through a small set of binoculars he carried and he handed them off to Frank. "See Ras-Alman anywhere?"

Frank took the binoculars and peered through them. Up close he could make out all of the men's faces, including a couple of men he had known for nearly two years. He spanned the area with the glasses until he stopped on one face.

"He's here," Frank hissed at Ned. "There."

Frank pointed in the direction of Ras-Alman and handed the binoculars back to Ned. Ned peered through them and nodded. He watched for several more minutes without saying a word then he turned to the others again.

"You guys remember to stay back," Ned warned the other three again. They rolled their eyes simultaneously but didn't argue. "I mean it. If you get shot I'll have to fill out way too much paperwork. So don't do it. Okay?"

Frank and Nancy smiled at each other and nodded. "No plans to get shot here, Ned," Nancy whispered. "Go on."

Ned spoke into his hand again.

"The package has been delivered," he exclaimed. "Everyone move in!"

With incredible looking efficiency, Ned Nickerson pulled a gun from a shoulder holster, clipped his F.B.I. badge to his lapel and yelled out. "F.B.I. Everyone down on the ground right now! Move!"

Instead of obeying orders, however, the bad guys drew guns and began firing like crazy. Ned dove to one side, rolling behind an abutment and he shot back out, firing off several shots.

Frank and Nancy exchanged stunned expressions as they watched and Joe crept forward a little, not wanting to be left out of the action. Frank grabbed his brother's arm and held on but Joe struggled enough, despite the obvious pain he was in, that Frank let him go.

"You better not get dead," Frank warned his brother. He nodded to Nancy and all of them crept forward together. Ras-Alman was not staying put like he should. He was racing out of the back of the building, obviously trying to get to his car for a get away.

"Let's get him!" Joe yelled unnecessarily. "Come on!"

They raced around the building, dodging out of the way of bullets and bad guys, coming around the back – near the street – to find that Ras-Alman was running toward a dark blue Mercedes.

"Not so fast, Marcius," Frank shouted. "You're not getting away this time!"

Ras-Alman turned and glared at his former son-in-law. "Oh? And who's going to stop me, boy? You?"

"No," Nancy said in a clear voice. "US."

Joe threw something then and a small round stone hit Ras-Alman squarely on the forehead.

Ras-Alman and Joe fell to the ground together, one of them unconscious and the other clearly in a lot of pain.

"Got him," Frank smiled with satisfaction at his girlfriend.


	20. Chapter 20 End Game

TAKING TO TASK

CHAPTER TWENTY

"END GAME"

"You are such an idiot," Frank told his younger brother as Joe sat on a gurney, waiting to be loaded up into an ambulance. "I'll grant your move with that rock was brilliant but you could have really hurt yourself you know!"

Joe ignored the lambasting and settled back on the gurney, ignoring the constant pull on his ribs. While everything hurt at the moment, he was satisfied; they had caught Ras-Alman red-handed, hands in the till kind of thing. Joe grinned at his brother who was watching Marcius fight with the agents putting him under arrest.

"It was too close," Frank murmured softly while rubbing one of Nancy's arms. She stood close to him, watching her ex-boyfriend as he directed the rest of the team. "He was very close to doing what he wanted to do."

"And bringing us down with him," Nancy agreed softly.

The crates had been opened, revealing the explosives that would be used to take down the Arch and a good chunk of the downtown St. Louis area. There had been more than that in the crate too – so confident nobody would discover his plans, Ras-Alman had included written instructions to be provided with the crates – they were all signed with his normal 'RA' sprawl that was very recognizable to the agents who investigated him.

"I think someone's going to be in jail for a very long time," Joe grinned. "And it couldn't happen to a nicer guy."

"He deserves more than just conspiracy to commit terrorism though," Nancy frowned.

"They have him for murder, kidnapping and other sorts of illicit activities too," Frank reminded her. "He won't see the light of day again."

Nancy nodded and turned to face him. Gently, they kissed but were interrupted a few moments later by Ned.

"We need you to come with us and give your statements," Ned said. "I want this case as solid as I can make it. You're very lucky I had warrants for searching Ras-Alman's database or we wouldn't be able to use anything we found here."

Nancy shrugged. "I did what I had to do Ned," she frowned at him. "And I would do it again if I had to."

Ned sighed and Frank grinned. That was so true!

"Joe has to go back to the hospital, can we give our statements there?" Frank asked. "I doubt he's going anywhere anytime soon."

Ned sighed but nodded. "I'll find you there in an hour or so."

Frank watched the paramedics load his brother into the back of the ambulance and close the door. He waved to Joe as the ambulance drove off and motioned to Nancy. "Let's go."

They went to find their car.

HARDYBOYSNANCYDREW

"Nan, are you happy?"

Nancy, sitting in the small office where the interview was conducted, looked up at her former boyfriend. Ned sat in the chair behind the desk, watching her. His partner had conducted her interview earlier, getting all of the information Nancy had to provide, both concerning the current case and finding Frank the month before. Ned came in at the end of it, having finished with Frank's interview and stood in the back until his partner was done.

"I'm very happy," Nancy admitted softly, smiling. "I… I was a mess for a long time after you left. I couldn't concentrate but now… now I feel I have the world. Ned, I loved you a lot. I think in some ways I may love you forever; you were my first love you know. Those are special. They never die. But… I love Frank. I think… I think I may have loved him for a long time now but I didn't want… didn't want to ruin what I had with you."

She paused, looking away.

"Maybe if Frank hadn't been kidnapped and Callie hadn't been killed, we wouldn't be talking about this. Maybe we would be married now. But we aren't and we have separate paths to walk now. You have your life with the F.B.I. and I have mine, with Frank."

Nancy leaned forward and took one of Ned's hands into her own.

"I want you to be happy, Ned," she said softly. "Forever. I want you to find the love of your life like I have. She's out there for you somewhere, I know that."

Ned smiled. "I won't ever forget what I had with you Nan," he said softly. He took the hand that held his own and kissed the back of it.

"I wish you the best," he got up and came around the desk. Very gently, he kissed her lightly on the lips then turned and left the room.

Nancy sat for a moment, eyes closed, her lips tingling. Then she stood and went out into the hallway to find her new future – Frank Hardy. Together they went up to Joe's room to see if his interview was finished.

**HARDYBOYSNANCYDREW**

"Home sweet home!" Joe exclaimed as the car they rode in pulled up in front of the Hardy's residence on the corner of Elm and High Streets. He grinned as he saw the window open and his mother stood there, holding his niece.

Frank practically leapt from the car as he raced forward and into the house. He took his daughter into his arms and held her, rocking her back and forth as his eyes shined with unshed tears.

"Hello, baby," he whispered to her as he kissed her downy head. He lifted his eyes and met his mother's blue-eyed gaze. "Mom, thank you."

Laura Hardy reached out and touched Frank's cheek. "It was my pleasure, son."

Nancy and Joe joined them and Frank sat down next to Nancy on the sofa, Diana still in his arms.

The new family snuggled close together not caring, for the moment, what the future held.

Because, at the moment, all that mattered was now.

THE END


End file.
